1. What does civic engagement mean to me? 

Civic engagement generally is understood as being active in your communities issues and being aware of what is going on around you politically and socially. This can be portrayed in many ways such as voting, protesting for what you believe in, or even using social media platforms to help others become educated and conscious of what is going on in our world today. Social and political topics are relevant everywhere, whether that be down the street or across the world. You can make an impact right where you are. 

2. In what ways do I feel society, small and large, is better when people are civically engaged? 

Societies big and small benefit from civic engagement in various forms. Research and studies show, that societies that are more involved work more cohesive as a whole which can account for positive individual and societal growth. When we are aware of what is going on, and are actively participating, negative situations will not just pass us by.  Totalitarian control would not be easy on societies that are civilly engaged and the government would reflect the people in a productive aspect. Because a lot of people are not civilly engaged, there are topics that do not get brought up because there is no knowledge of it. This is the complete opposite in a cohesive community. 

3. Why did I choose the topic/activity I did? 

Growing up in the United Methodist Church Youth Conference, one thing I always noticed was a lack of other youth of color and youth that looked like me. After talking to the other youth of color that were at the camp I attend annually, our feelings were corresponding. We thought, if something has not been done, why can't we be the ones to make a change. Thus, Más Diversity was born. 

4. How do I hope my actions would help the community? 

I hope of other young youth can look to me and my high school  colleagues as inspiration that they can do great things as well. The goal was to create a comfortable space to just exist as well as talk about anything that they wanted to. I also hoped for people to see that anyone of any age can make a change if there is an issue that needs to be addressed. It starts with a vision and goal and anyone can achieve that goal.