Passion for Advocacy
Choosing the right path after high school can be a daunting challenge for first-generation college students. For Chicago native Christian Snow ’13, it was all about finding a liberal arts environment where people truly cared.
“When I got to Grinnell, that’s exactly what I found,” Snow says. “I found students who cared about what they were learning, and I found mentors who cared about me, cared about my passions, and wanted to push me to succeed.
“With great mentors you can do amazing things you didn’t even think were possible. Even now, when I talk to youth about college opportunities I find myself pushing a smaller space where you can get some actual attention, and it’s because of what Grinnell gave me.”
Tell your own story
Snow’s liberal arts experience produced a wealth of opportunities, including her current position as Community Engagement Director for Street-Level Youth Media in Chicago.
“I am really excited about the work I’m doing with Street-Level,” Snow says, “because I’m allowed to engage with people who are just as passionate about youth and youth development.
“We believe that youth voices have validity, especially youth who come from backgrounds like my own – low socioeconomic youth from urban environments, dealing with all sorts of pressures and realities,” Snow says. “Their stories are different than what you’ll find in the general media. We teach them how to tell their own story so they don’t have to rely on others to tell it for them.
“We support youth who want to be in school, and we support youth who want to be entrepreneurs. No matter where they want to go, we will be there helping them figure out how to go down that path.”
Adding value
Snow began working with Street Level as an AmeriCorps participant in the New Sector Alliance program. She credits her mentors at Grinnell for encouraging her to apply, and for helping her gain the organizational skills she’s using now.
“When I first came to Street Level, I realized that the organization wasn’t capitalizing on its potential,” Snow says. “I showed them it would be beneficial to be organized as a business in terms of informational systems, operational systems, and things like project workflow and internal communication.
“Once I finished my AmeriCorps term, Street-Level requested that I stay on full time,” Snow says. “I was lucky enough that they thought so highly of me that they placed me in a position where I have a lot of leeway and a lot of decision making power.”
Clear priorities
Snow also has a full tuition scholarship awaiting her at Northeastern Law School in Boston, but she deferred it for one year because of her commitment to finish what she started at Street-Level Youth Media.
“My goal was to create sustainable processes here, and I wasn’t done yet,” Snow says. “It’s really important to me that I leave them in a place where they can continue without my being here.
“I’m definitely still going to law school. I want to learn the law because it’s the rule of the land, and you need to know how the system works. After law school I want to come back. I want to serve the community, be a part of a community center, or start a community center that focuses on giving disenfranchised people as much knowledge about the world as possible.