Bridgewater Student Is Attending the Ninth-Annual Clinton Global Initiative University

Bridgewater, NJ -- A Bridgewater student of Kean University will be attending the ninth-annual Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U), hosted by President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton at the University of California, Berkeley, from April 1 to 3.

Jillian Mahon of Bridgewater is one of seven students that will share their innovative solutions to global and community problems and seek funding to further their ideas.

Their student-led projects are the Vertical Gardens Initiative from Be the Change at Kean University, Let’s Go Bigger from the Department of Occupational Therapy, and the Organic Multicultural Vegetable Garden from the School of Environmental and Sustainability Sciences (SESS).

Be the Change has the distinction of attending CGI U for a second straight year and has been given the added opportunity to present at the CGI U Exchange and Dinner Saturday, April 2.

“We educate the leaders of tomorrow at Kean University,” said Kean President Dawood Farahi, Ph.D. “However, having three separate student groups representing Kean at Clinton Global Initiative University shows that our students are already proving themselves as leaders on the global stage.”

The Kean students attending the conference, accompanied by faculty advisor Norma Bowe, Ph.D., will be among more than 1,000 student leaders who made Commitments to Action through CGI U. Through their initiatives, the Kean students will pledge to tackle the issues of poverty alleviation, public health, and environment and climate change, three of CGI U’s five focus areas, which also include education, and peace and human rights.

Be the Change at Kean University fosters peace and hunger relief in communities through gardening. Starting first with “peace gardens” in Newark, the group then turned its attention to global needs. Last year, Be the Change shipped a freestanding vertical garden to a refugee camp in Kosovo after attending CGI U, and this year the group will seek funding for its Vertical Garden Initiative to create a more cost-effective, light-weight garden that can be shipped to refugee camps or communities in need anywhere in the world.

“We are very excited to be going back to CGI U for the second year in a row,” said graduate student Jillian Mahon of Bridgewater​. “We plan to build on our experience in addressing food deserts and social justice in Newark, New Jersey and Kosovo by committing this year to include a new vertical garden design to be shipped and used by Syrian refugees in Greece.”

Let’s Go Bigger from Kean’s Department of Occupational Therapy is a community mobility program designed to improve the health and wellbeing of senior citizens. The students are attending CGI U to expand a successful program that they ran in seven senior housing facilities in Rahway, Linden and Trenton, New Jersey that assisted older adults in getting out of their homes and into the community to engage in meaningful activities. Participants reported sustained physical, psychological and social benefits of increased involvement in their communities.

“One of the participants, who uses a powerchair, never ventured beyond her immediate neighborhood,” said Chrissy Papetti, an OT student who participated in Let’s Go. “We were able to support her in getting on and off the public bus system to visit the local farmers’ market. The Let’s Goprogram makes a difference in the daily lives of older adults.”

The Organic Multicultural Vegetable Garden from SESS is envisioned as a place for elementary and high school students to make cultural and environmental connections through gardening. SESS students will grow vegetables from diverse cultures, with the compost produced from food waste on Kean's campus, and teach local students about farming, sustainability and diversity at the garden, which will be located at Liberty Hall Farm at Kean University. The harvested produce will be donated to local food banks. The team hopes that, through CGI U collaboration, it can establish gardens in high schools and universities with diverse cultures and students.

"Kean University embraces and welcomes all cultural backgrounds and this project continues that practice. We want to help local immigrant and refugee families to transition smoothly and have a sense of belonging,” said Jessica Frago, a sustainability major at SESS. “Farming vegetables from a variety of cultures is one way of doing that. The students will be part of something meaningful as they learn about sustainable farming."

To augment the support they are receiving from the University, the students have started a Go Fund Me page to raise money for living expenses while attending the conference.

(Photo provided: The Kean University students attending Clinton Global Initiative University with their faculty advisor. Standing l-r: Mark Ravinsky, Marlboro; Julian Demartinis, Morristown; Jillian Mahon, Bridgewater; Jessica Frago, Jersey City; and Sarah Khalil, Piscataway. Seated, ​l-r:, Joseph Lentini, Union; and faculty advisor Norma Bowe, Ph.D., Highland Park. Not pictured: Chrissy Papetti, Randolph.)