By Sarah Buop, For The Miami Student
The thought of first-years feeling the need to look and act a certain way in order to fit in at Miami University struck a nerve with junior Ashton Spann. She began to imagine that a campus where all students' qualities could prevail over the typical Miami stereotypes.
This idea inspired Spann to create Project You, a campus-wide initiative that promotes authenticity and celebrates all students' unique qualities.
The Project You mission statement explains that this is an initiative dedicated to improving the Miami community by empowering students to believe that no matter where they come from, what they look like or how they identify, each one is perfectly unique, valuable and worthy beyond words.
"I wanted to start Project You because I felt that it was something that our campus needed," Spann said. "There are a lot of students that come to our campus thinking that there's one image that they need to fit into in order to find a sense of belonging, but that definitely isn't the case."
Project You is currently a committee within The National Residence Hall Honorary. Throughout this spring semester, Project You has teamed up with different organizations in order to spread the word about their goals throughout campus.
The committee has also been holding a variety of events to increase awareness. These events include passing out flowers and compliments on Valentine's Day, having students add their thumbprint to the Project You banner and holding workshops for any students who would like to participate.
Over the past two months, the committee has held various "TED Talk Tuesdays" that include a TED talk screening and group discussion about a certain topic. Past topic discussions have included self-love, self-esteem and bullying.
On March 17, Project You held a "TED Talk Tuesday" on masculinity and gender stereotypes. To begin, the students first watched a TED Talk video about the topic. The group then gathered around in a circle to discuss how gender stereotypes influenced their daily lives.
Member of the Project You committee, David Shoemaker, facilitated the discussion on masculinity and gender stereotypes. He feels the TED Talks are a great way for students to start communicating with each other about certain topics that affect their daily lives.
"I think the various-themed TED Talks will provide a space for students to have critical and difficult conversations about their experiences and thoughts on improving the culture of Miami's student body," Shoemaker said.
This is just the beginning for Project You. The team will continue to hold events throughout the semester, including "TED Talk Tuesdays" at 7 p.m. on April 14 and 28 in Armstrong Student Center Pavilion C.
"Each and every one of us is perfectly unique, valuable and worthy beyond words, and I hope that Project You can help other students believe that as well," Spann said.