Find Your Place in the Social Change Ecosystem

At Athena, there are so many ways to get involved  — in Fall 2023 alone, Athena offered 13 total communities of practice for current students, offering them opportunities to explore storytelling, user interface design, and entrepreneurship as ways of making change, to name just a few. 

But what if you’re not sure what way of making change is right for you, right now?

Finding Your Place in the Social Change Ecosystem (FYPSCE) debuted in Fall 2023, a three-week community of practice for students interested in thinking about a wide range of ways of making change, how they fit together, and how they, as individuals, can fit into something larger. 

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The Social Change Ecosystem framework, created by Deepa Iyer, a writer, lawyer, and activist,  suggests that there's no single "right" way to be a changemaker—instead, there are multiple, overlapping roles within movements and organizations pushing for change. In addition to being a reflective tool for thinking about the values and systems that drive us, the Social Change Ecosystem provides a way for us to think about why we take on certain social roles and how they work together. Using this framework, along with the book Social Change Now: A Guide for Reflection and Connection, this community of practice offered students a chance to think deeply about themselves, their world, and the futures they want to build upon next — with the support of Athena’s Director of Applied Learning Chriss Sneed and Post-Baccalaureate Fellow Ellie George ‘23. 

“I learned all the different ways I could get engaged in social change,” reflects Melody Xu ‘26, a biology major, and Rishika Gupta, ‘26 a WGSS major, agrees. “Any person can become any role, but an effective leader matches the role with the moment. I know when and where to bring out each quality to best exercise my potential as a changemaker.”

Besides providing space for participants to reflect on the ways they show up in social change environments, FYPSCE also served as a springboard for exploring what else Athena has to offer. 

FYPSCE inspired Tal Bloom ‘26, an education and human rights double major, to apply for the Athena Fellows community of practice the following semester. “FYPSCE was my introduction to Athena, and the experience made me want to go more in-depth into the topics I care about. It  introduced me to storytelling as an aspect of social change, so in my Athena Fellows project, I am diving into storytelling and how research can be made accessible to the field it’s representing.” 

Wherever you are in your changemaking journey—whether you feel unsure where you fit in these spaces, or perhaps you’re already firm on your strengths and weaknesses—FYPSCE allows you to meet others and deepen your leadership practices together. Along the way, you'll develop a deeper understanding of yourself and find inspiration in Athena's diverse communities to launch you into whatever comes next.

Finding Your Place in the Social Change Ecosystem is re-launching for the Spring 2024 semester. You can learn more about how to join the community here – we hope to see you there!