Behind many of the events happening on each of the University's campuses is the student social impact organization, ASU Changemaker.
Changemaker collaborates with student clubs and local organizations to host events with the intention of creating lasting impacts and support for the whole Arizona community.
The impact also reaches the students working on the event from start to finish.
Ved Thareja, Tempe campus lead and a junior triple major, said the organization has four pillars that their events fulfill: service, social entrepreneurship and innovation, civic engagement and sustainability.
To put on their events, Thareja said Changemaker is made up of three different student positions, including scholars, vice leads and campus leads.
Scholars, she said, organize the events from the pitch to the final event and are overseen by vice leads, who lead one of the four pillars. She said campus leads oversee the whole organization's management and communication for that campus.
At the start of the semester, Thareja said the team sits down to brainstorm potential events they want to host, such as a sustainable fashion show or student-led discussions similar to a TED Talk.
READ MORE: Trashin' to fashion: ASU Changemaker hosts sustainable fashion show
She said students are allowed to pitch ideas on events they want to do, and if they fall into one of the four pillars, they are eligible to receive a grant to make the event happen.
While they have a goal for the number of events they want to hold per semester, Thareja said their success is not measured by the number of events but rather the impact they have.
"If we're able to impact even just one person, we're making that change that's very important, very valuable," Thareja said. "All of those small actions really come together and cultivate that big environment of change."
Dheepthi Sundaresan, West campus lead and a junior studying technical communication, said the organization provides lessons for students beyond textbook learning, allowing them to get hands-on involvement within their community.
She said Changemaker at West Valley has grown throughout the years, with local organizations reaching out and looking for support to host an event.
"It's crazy how much we've grown as an organization and how much people now know that we exist," Sundaresan said.
A current Changemaker scholar, Monisha Naidu, a graduate student studying global management, said she first connected with Changemaker after attending an event where they partnered with Feed My Starving Children, which inspired her to get more involved with social impact events.
For Naidu, Changemaker is a great way for her to get more involved with making a positive change in her community.
She said the support she received from Changemaker at West Valley's leadership team motivated her to want to continue to help with more events.
"My hard work is finally getting into someone's hand," Naidu said. "You feel motivated, you feel you want to do more of this kind of work."
Naidu also said working at Changemaker events has helped her connect and network with local nonprofits. She further said she developed leadership skills and confidence that she will take with her post-graduation.
"Everyone is there for each other," Naidu said. "That is what makes West Valley Changemaker special for me."
As the year comes to a close, Sundaresan said she hopes student affinity in Changemaker continues to grow so they can, in turn, increase their impact with more organizations.
"I want to leave Changemaker knowing that I've made an impact," Sundaresan said. "Not only with my leadership, but also knowing that I've made Changemaker something bigger than it was."
Edited by Natalia Rodriguez, Jack McCarthy and Pippa Fung.
Reach the reporter at alillest@asu.edu and follow @allylillestol on X.
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Allison Lillestol is a reporter for the community and culture desk. She is in her 4th semester with the State Press. She also works for Arizona PBS.
