Central Texas College (CTC) recently announced its student Net Impact team was recognized as one of the nation’s top five programs raising awareness and engagement on America’s growing fiscal challenges. During the 10th annual Up to Us Campus Competition, CTC Net Impact was ranked as a top five team in the country based on its innovative campaigns created to draw attention to fiscal awareness and building a sustainable economic and fiscal future for America.
For its efforts, CTC Net Impact earned a $1,000 cash prize and an all-expense-paid trip for Danyell Sletten, project team leader and Net Impact president, to attend the 15th Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.
Up to Us is the only nationwide, campus-based campaign focused on building a sustainable economic and fiscal future for America's next generation. It empowers students to educate peers on our long-term national debt, how it could affect their economic opportunities and what our generation can do to have a voice in raising awareness of our fiscal challenges. The finalists and winner of the Up to Us Campus Competition were determined by their ability to engage their peers, use of creative strategies, social media efforts and overall impact of their campaigns.
CTC’s Up to Us projects were judged against those of nearly 80 teams which consisted mostly of four-year universities. “The competition was certainly not easy and our students continually challenged themselves to develop creative ideas on how to reach their peers,” said Chastity Clemons, CTC business professor and Net Impact faculty advisor. “The hard work paid off as we were the only two-year school to place in the top five, faring better than major schools like the University of Notre Dame.”
CTC Net Impact surpassed its 2020 Up to Us competition results which was a top 10 finish. The organization’s latest projects focused on the national debt surpassing $31 trillion. “We as the next generation of American leaders need to make our voices heard,” said Sletten. “Our goal was to come up with creative projects to make the subjects of increasing awareness of the national debt, the nation’s economy and the future of the economy more relatable to students. The consequences of our national debt and the importance of sustaining fiscal sustainability can truly impact our students and other young people.”
Some of the CTC Net Impact projects included creating a haunted maze as part of a campus Halloween event. Students had to answers questions related to fiscal policy to escape the maze. The team also hosted trivia contests, a cornhole game called “Debt Bag” and game shows such as “Debt or No Debt” and Wheel of Misfortune” which focused on the national debt and fiscal policies.
Clemons noted in addition to interactive ventures, some Net Impact projects had a more direct approach. “We visited numerous classrooms across campus to make presentations on Up to Us efforts; campaigned and collected pledges to send to Congress asking them to consider the national debt when making decisions; and made appointments by email, social media and phone with our state representatives to talk to them about our economy.”
Up to Us was founded by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation in 2012, in partnership with Net Impact and the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGIU). Up to Us is a non-partisan initiative that provides young civic leaders with the resources and training needed to advocate for a more prosperous and sustainable fiscal future. The annual competition held on participating college campuses across the country have led to innovative student peer-topeer campaigns and helped raise awareness of our nation’s fiscal challenges and advocating for solutions.