High school and college students in Washington could win a grant of up to $5,000 and mentoring from T-Mobile to complete a project aimed at solving a diversity issue. Students may apply by March 21 with a submission that includes a 3-to-5-minute video.
Finalists will present their proposals April 8 at the University of Washington Bothell’s Diversity and Inclusion Conference, which is presented on campus in partnership with T-Mobile.
"The greatest thing about this conference and the project competition is the opportunity for leadership to come from all of us — the nonprofit, education, corporate sectors and especially students," said Holli Martinez,T-Mobile director of diversity and inclusion.
UW Bothell students who were asked at random how they might spend a $5,000 diversity grant suggested ideas that included making a documentary about the native people of Vietnam and teaching disabled children to swim. Other student projects might address issues such as transgender bathrooms, accommodations for the hearing impaired in class projects, or classroom microagressions.
All Washington state high school and college students are eligible to apply for the grant. Students must work in groups of 3-8. The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. Monday March 21. Video applications can be submitted by posting on the UW Bothell Facebook page.
A T-Mobile team will advise finalists as they prepare for their 10-minute presentation at the conference. The final presentations will resemble the show "Shark Tank," but voting is in the hands of conference attendees.
The winning team will receive coaching from T-Mobile executives at their Bellevue campus to bring their project to fruition. T-Mobile also will feature the project on its internal diversity and inclusion web page and create its own video showcasing the project at the UW Bothell conference.
The second annual Diversity and Inclusion Conference on April 8 will feature three workshops:
Courageous Conversation – Skills to communicate with people from different cultures,
Advocacy and Action – How to advocate for yourself and others,
Allyship – Learning what it takes to be an effective ally.
Register for the conference on the campus diversity website.
