From the president
Grant Pitts, a Sociology major at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, is an impassioned student leader who is eager to learn and grow through collaborating with others. Grant exhibits an exceptional commitment to social justice and democratic engagement. Through his work as an Andrew Goodman Campus Ambassador, he engaged fellow students in get-out-the-vote and voter education for the 2022 midterm elections. As part of a team of four students, Grant consistently took the lead and initiated work on voter registration and educational activities. Grant enthusiastically embraces the goal of helping other students, particularly those who are traditionally marginalized, access and practice their voting rights. Moreover, as a first-generation, non-traditional college student, Grant exhibits a sophisticated understanding of the systemic and inter-related nature of social issues. As a research assistant with Parkside’s Smart Cities Initiative, he gathers input from community members about issues they face and ways in which technology can help address them. Finally, as President of the UW-Parkside chapter of Habitat for Humanity, Grant not only recruits students to volunteer to build houses, but also seeks to help them understand the struggles related to affordable housing and homelessness.
Personal Statement
My number one goal is to improve the lived experience of others. Unfortunately, there’s no silver bullet to do so. Instead, it’s a multi-step process. First and foremost, in order to help others, you must understand their problems and the solutions to those problems. To this end, I work as a Research Assistant with my school’s College of Social Sciences and Professional Studies, helping to canvas the local population so that we can understand their greatest challenges and come up with effective solutions as part of our Smart Cities Initiative. Helping others, however, isn’t all academic. As president of my college’s Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter, I work to organize and incentive charity work and volunteerism, helping to build affordable housing in my home city of Kenosha. Of course, I can’t accomplish much by myself. Not only do I rely heavily on my board and club members; I also believe it’s important to motivate others to become involved. As an Andrew Goodman Vote Everywhere Campus Ambassador, I work to increase civic engagement, assisting students with voter registration, educating them about our electoral process, and helping direct them to the polls on election day.