Twenty-one UAB students attended the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) from April 1-3 at the University of California, Berkeley. Of the group, 10 are from the College of Arts and Sciences.

In 2007, former President Bill Clinton launched CGI U to engage more than 1,000 student leaders in developing innovative solutions to campus, community or global challenges. To apply to CGI U, a student or a group of students must develop a Commitment to Action with specific and measurable steps to address challenges in one of five focus areas: education, environment and climate change, peace and human rights, poverty alleviation, or public health. The participating College of Arts and Sciences students are:

EDUCATION

• Rohit Borah, senior in political science and fifth-year Master of Public Health, proposes “Nurture International” to bring modernized, dynamic health education and literacy to children in low-income areas.
• Javarus Humphries, junior in neuroscience, plans to develop, along with his student partners from other schools, “Spreading Awareness,” a network of medical professionals to serve inner-city youth in sexual exigency and disease.
• Esha Kaushik, senior in psychology, is working with her student peers from other schools to support the education and medical aid of women in underprivileged areas of India through the nonprofit organization “One Life at a Time.”
• Rebecca Massey, junior biology major, plans to utilize the UAB student organization “Pre-Med Partners” to pair pre-med student mentors with underprivileged high school students from Birmingham City Schools.

PEACE AND HUMAN RIGHTS

• Anisha Das, senior in neuroscience, plans to bridge the technology gap and promote a closer community with her “Building Bridges” project.
• Aseel Dib, senior in chemistry, and Mallack Jaber, senior in neuroscience, will work with student organizations at UAB to explore issues of Islamaphobia and xenophobia toward Middle Eastern populations in Birmingham in their proejct “Breaking Stereotypes: The Middle East.”

PUBLIC HEALTH

• Aileen Jong, senior in philosophy, Michelle Nguyen, senior in neuroscience, and Clara Wan, senior in biology, seek to use “Camions of Care at UAB” to raise awareness and promote menstrual hygiene management in Birmingham.