Having your voice heard and making a difference in your community involves having a vision, determination and creating a plan of action.
Auburn student Dillon Nettles, junior in political science, did this when he helped found Students for Education Reform.
According to Nettles, SFER is an on-campus organization that focuses on bridging the education achievement gap throughout state and local schools such as Auburn High School and Loachapoka High School.
SFER has chapters in schools and communities across the nation.
Nettles, along with the help of Teach For America Campus Coordinator Caroline Hiskey, decided he wanted to plant a chapter at Auburn University after accepting the Rising Leaders Fellowship with Teach for America.
"Part of my fellowship was to actually develop a blueprint, and kind of enact some type of plan that could be carried out over the next year while I was completing the fellowship," Nettles said. "We realized that in Alabama we have no Students for Education Reform chapter anywhere, so it was something that we decided that we wanted to do and something that was really going to be helpful with me carrying out my fellowship."
The organization works to inform and engage Auburn students and people in the community about the issues, such as socio-economics and race, which currently exist within the state education system and are affecting students in different schools.
To discuss the current concerns within the system, SFER plans conferences and events that strive to educate others about the issues.
Since February is Black History Month, the organization recently partnered with the NAACP to co-host a meeting about how race plays a role in education.
Nicole Moneyham, junior in communication and director of programming for SFER, is in charge of making sure the group's bi-weekly meetings come together.
"We like to create programs and events that students can attend that are fun and sociable, but at the same time," Moneyham said. "We have been to many different conferences and have had several events and partnered with other organizations to raise money for other organizations. I think just seeing how far we've come for this being our first year as an organization is something to be proud of."
Nettles said SFER receives a lot of support from advisers in many different colleges and departments across campus, which helps the organization with their mission.
"We should really be taking advantage of our time here at Auburn since we have the resources provided to really carry through with the things that we're passionate about," Nettles said. "I know that a lot of young people feel like they're not really heard as much as the professionals, representatives and senators, but that's just simply not the case."
SFER adviser Brad Smith said being part of the organization also develops leadership skills and career preparedness.
"As aspiring teachers, many of which are pursuing the Teach For America program, SFER allows its members the opportunity to begin advocating for their students before they even reach the classroom," Smith said.
Students who are interested in getting involved with SFER can go to auburn.edu/auinvolve and search for Students for Education Reform, or go to its Facebook page.
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