Social Justice Day @ CBU
Additional Details
Your determination to make the world a better place drives you. And you aren’t alone.
Christian Brothers University takes social justice very seriously — it’s one of the Lasallian principles we build on. While others talk about making the world a better place, our students actually do it!
Find out how careers in business and the arts can give you a platform to change the world!
Join high school students from the area in a variety of hands-on activities and some deep dives with CBU students, alumni, faculty who have already made an impact in the world of social justice. We’ll provide you with materials and with lunch. Just come ready to envision a better future and make an immediate difference.
Let us show you how YOU can be part of bringing justice to our community.
ACTIVITIES
- Hear from a panel of recent alumni discussing their social justice internship experiences
- Screenprint a t-shirt with a special Social Justice Day logo
- Participate in a discussion activity about marketing and visual approaches to social activism
- Create a social justice collage
- Share lunch and discussion of social justice with current CBU students
- Take a campus tour with the Brothers that highlights a history of social justice
FEATURED BUSINESS SPEAKERS
Shanice D. Oliver (Marketing, 2015. MBA from U of M, and Master’s in Social Entrepreneurship and Change from Pepperdine)
Shanice’s history includes service as an Influencer Marketing Strategist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital – ALSAC, as well as CEO of Flawless Designs, LLC, a social enterprise she created to promote diversified and inclusive educational enrichment experiences through art and technology for young women of color. While at CBU she had internships with the Mid-South Minority Business Council and AARP.
Jeremy Calhoun (MIS from U of M; MBA, 2018)
Jeremy has served as the Project Specialist II with International Paper’s Delivery Management Center of Excellence. He is the founder and President of STS Enterprise Corporation, a local nonprofit that focuses on the betterment and empowerment of youth and college students, especially first generation students.
Collin Duncan (Accounting, 2023)
Collin worked as an Accounting Intern with the Downtown Memphis Commission in Summer 2021 and is also active in the CBU Black Student Union. According to Collin, “In my internship at the Downtown Memphis Commission, I work toward social justice by helping with all of the accounting. We recently partnered with another non-profit called Hospitality Hub where they placed homeless individuals into safe environments that they built. I was able to assist in the funding of this project which was super cool!”
Carmen Monter (Marketing, 2022)
Carmen worked as a Marketing Intern with Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and as a Program Assistant with Boys and Girls Club. Carmen says, “Throughout my internship experience at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, I realized that there were few resources written in Spanish to the Spanish speaking community. Therefore, I brought it up to my supervisor as this affects a large portion of our community, it is important to continue to minimize the language barrier and ensure that everyone is educated, especially regarding the Covid-19 vaccine. While this upcoming semester I want to continue to minimize that language barrier at Make-A-Wish.”
FEATURED ARTS SPEAKERS
Michalyn Easter-Thomas (History BA, 2013; Master’s Degree in Education from Columbia University, and currently pursuing a doctorate in Education at Vanderbilt University)
Michalyn was elected current Memphis City Councilwoman and has worked as Curriculum Director at Overton High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, founder of the Our Grass, Our Roots neighborhood association, and co-owner of new Pose 901 selfie photography studio with fellow alumni in Graphic Design, Antoine Lever. Interned at National Civil Rights Museum as a CBU student.
Austin Brown (2021, BA History; plans to attend CBU for MBA program.)
Austin recently began a new position as Alumni Engagement Coordinator for Leadership Memphis, which trains leaders and community change agents. As a CBU student, he interned with Memphis Area Legal Services for the impoverished, Memphis Fair Housing Center, the Shelby County District Attorney’s office, Holland and Associates Law Firm specializing in employment discrimination, and CBU’s NICE and ReEnvision programs.
Anna Della Rosa (2021, dual degrees in Psychology and Interdisciplinary Studies in Sustainability and Global Studies, with Minors in Peace Studies, Spanish Studies, and Anthropology)
Anna interned with the CBU Lasallian Institute of Sustainability, the Lasallian College program, and St. Jude’s Target House. She volunteered for the Mariposas Collective providing interpretation, food, clothing, and medical help for immigrants travelling by bus to and through Memphis. She also helped develop CBU campus composting system, local farmers’ markets, and other initiatives as Student Government Association VP of Communications, Student Activities Council Vice President of Logistics, and member of the Sustainability Coalition. Anna has published and presented original research on race prejudice and psychology.
Chris Peterson (2010, Philosophy)
As a CBU student, Chris was the first President of the student Social Justice Club, co-founder of the Community Peace Garden, volunteer with St. Mary’s Soup Kitchen, Memphis Literacy Corps tutor, intern assisting local Latino/a families with the Shelby County District Attorney Office, and an inductee selected for the first class of Lasallian Fellows. After earning a Master’s Degree in Human Values and Contemporary Global Ethics at King’s College London, Chris utilized his knowledge and passion for diversity, social justice, sustainability, and food access policies to help support neighborhood, school, and veterans’ community gardens in his work for Grow Memphis, the Food Advisory Council, Memphis Food Hub, and Alpha Omega Veterans Urban Farm. He has also taught ethics and anthropology courses at CBU and Rhodes. “My experience at CBU and involvement in social justice issues while on campus were heavily shaped by the fact that CBU really is a teaching college. At a time that I was personally very focused on how to pursue social justice in my personal life and future career, the small class sizes and ability to really get to know these professors (and many others) really helped me hone my ideas. CBU allowed my peers and me the opportunity to explore how we might put some of these ideas into action on campus. I now understand how special it was that we conceived the idea of a community garden and were allowed to break ground and integrate that project into classes almost immediately…that ability to explore our convictions on campus really gave us a leg up when it came to pursuing these ideas in the broader communities we landed in.”
COVID: Here at CBU, we are still taking our COVID precautions seriously. We want you and your guests to have the best experience possible while you’re here. Your registration affirms that you are willing to follow CBU’s COVID precautions. Learn more about CBU’s protocol at cbu.edu/coronavirus.
