Robin Goist
John Carroll University
Robin is a sophomore from Youngstown, Ohio pursuing a major in communication and journalism. She is a standout leader who has demonstrated a significant commitment to service and civic engagement in the Cleveland community and on campus. As a scholar in John Carroll's Arrupe Scholars program and as a leader in the Ohio Student Association she is using her skills, talents and education to make a difference. Through her concerted efforts at constituency building, educating and advocating, she has addressed key issues of the day, educated others and mobilized students to respond.
This past summer, Robin was awarded a 2015 Fellowship for Community Change by the Ohio Student Association. The Ohio Student Association is a statewide organization run by young people which focuses on organizing, public policy, and leadership development. As part of this organization, Robin has been involved in a campaign to make the RTA transportation system within the City of Cleveland more equitable, accessible, and reliable for those who ride the bus as their main means of transportation. She has canvassed Cleveland neighborhoods to gather data and input on the transportation needs of residents and the most significant problems they face. She will present her findings to the City of Cleveland and the Ohio Department of Transportation with the hopes of improving the system.
Her ability to organize, advocate for, and engage others are all hallmarks of her vision, passion and leadership which she puts at the service of bettering the lives of others.
Personal Statement
I went to my first war protest with my mom when I was in fifth grade, and ever since then my life has been filled with civic engagement and political activism. I decided to attend John Carroll University because of their Arrupe Scholars Program for students passionate about social justice. Since I came to college, I have organized voter registration and transit reform campaigns. Volunteering was a small part of my life in high school, and I never would have predicted that I would be going to three weekly service sites every semester. I look at it this way: if I really care about increasing the high school graduation rates in Cleveland, I should tutor second-grade students to make sure their reading comprehension is not falling behind grade level. While my work through service cannot bring every student to graduation, it is like that parable with the starfish: "it makes a difference to this one." I invoke this philosophy as I work toward justice on the individual level, while I also look to the overarching systems of oppression. Through service and civic engagement, I better understand my place in the world and duty to make it a better place.
