We recently asked Mikva Alumna, Amanjot Kaur, to share a few things about her experiences with the Mikva Challenge, and this is what she had to say:

Applying for the Mikva Challenge Youth Innovation Fund on a whim, I had never thought that soon the group would become one of my most exciting challenges that I had undertaken since my high school books. Amazingly enough, in my junior year of high school I became one of the 20 students that formed the Youth Innovation Fund of Chicago (now the Education Council).  YIF opened a whole new world for me and I was fortunate enough to get a chance to attend the National Service Learning Conference in Orlando in 2004 and YIF retreat at Nashville, Tennessee. My experience meeting dedicated youth who were excited about bringing change to their communities is something that thrills me even today.

As a member, I was involved in the development of material and also conducted workshops on service-learning and social change philanthropy. I was also part of the decision-making process and provided technical assistance for dozens of youth grant applicants seeking funding to increase the civic impact of service-learning in their schools and communities. My winter internship in 2004 at Mikva provided me with the enlightening opportunity to converse with a large number of Chicago Board of Education members and understand and review their ideas on change and role that youth play in the community.

YIF was part of my life for three years. I left the United States in 2005 to pursue my undergraduate studies in India. However, my Mikva experience has been unforgettable. Though India is not as actively involved in service learning, I ensure that I apply all the skills that I had developed during my membership with YIF. And whenever someone asks me what my YIF t-shirt says, I gladly oblige and relay the small part that I played in bringing about change in my community in Chicago.

I am currently pursuing my master’s degree in Medical Biotechnology at Manipal University, India and am currently involved in a research project at the Defense Research and Development Organization, New Delhi, where I am working on cancer cell lines. Though it has been four years since I have been to 25 E Washington Street, the moments spent in that room deliberating over impact plans and community structures are unforgettable since they shape the confident and concerned community member, and at the same time, the meticulous researcher I am today.

At Mikva Challenge, our mission is to train life-long civic leaders, and our alums, like Aman, and students affirm our success in getting young people to become today and tomorrow's leaders. Click here to learn more about Mikva's Education Council.