While I was applying to Stern I remember spending time thinking about how I could leave a lasting legacy at such an established institution. I didn’t realize it at the time, but all my ideas were miniscule compared to the actual impact I’d be able to have during my time here. Stern challenges us to think big about all facets of our experience here and to be bold in our contributions. Almost daily I see examples of how influential the voice of the student body is. Here are a few examples that have struck me.
Last semester, as a result of student voices, Stern enacted a Grade Non-Disclosure policy. This is a hot topic for many institutions and was for Stern students as well. In honoring our voices the student government held several town halls for us to share our opinions. This led to a student vote where a 2/3rd majority voted in favor of GND. The policy was enacted immediately with the support of our administration.
Last week, I sat in on a presentation made by a group of fellow students that challenged Stern faculty and administrators to rethink the way the school delivers education. The students freely voiced both negative and positive critiques about key areas of the school and boldly proposed a new vision for the school, as well. Their audience included the Dean of Innovation and several administrators and professors who sit on the board of Stern’s Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning. The board was eager to hear all of the insights presented and dug into a lively discussion about them. They embraced the ideas shared and developed next steps to explore some of them immediately.
In a couple of weeks, forty of us will spend Spring Break in Cuba as part of a new Business and Society course, Cuba: Sanctions, Reform, Opportunities. This course is a result of a petition made by students in Stern’s Association of Hispanic and Black Business Students. We decided to request the course because, as a club, we appreciate Stern’s openness to business and cultural insights from a variety of different societies and feel there is much to be learned from the story of Cuba. We are excited to participate in the inaugural class, which became an official part of our course selection less than six months after we petitioned for it.
I have come to cherish Stern’s faculty and administrators who are committed to embracing the student voice. I am proud of the lasting legacy that our class continues to create and am excited to see what future class will bring to the school.