David White IV is the Mill Run Campus Pastor for UALC and founded the O2 Conference to give middle school and high school students a platform to share their ideas to create social impact in Columbus, along with the funding and support they need to realize their ideas. Their conference for 2022 is coming up, and for me personally, it’s a source of inspiration hearing the ideas of young people to create change.
Middle and high school students submit ideas for uplifting Columbus, and the selected ideas have the opportunity to pitch to the community, receive funding and mentorship to help realize these dreams and build relationships.
What is exciting is that the ideas have so much variety. One student launched a safe food pantry in her school; an idea that spread to over a dozen nearby schools. There was an idea to build a hydroponic vegetable garden to bring fresh produce to a local food desert. One student launched an app on the app store to help students focus. Another taught breathing exercises to reduce stress.
This year’s theme is “Thriving Schools” because education continues to be challenging, and many students and faculty are overwhelmed just keeping up with the basics of education. (But this is only a guideline and not a requirement).
I last spoke with David White before the pandemic in 2019, and I was really curious to hear how things have changed. One thing is clear: the pandemic has made it more difficult to form new connections in our community. Many, including myself, feel more isolated from the city around us. And that isolation has only magnified issues around us.
But what inspired me from our conversation, is how well the O2 Conference brings together people. It’s not just about students pitching their ideas: it’s about building connections and giving people an opportunity to help each other grow, listen to each other and develop understanding. The conference is a lens for the community to come together so that we can give what support we can to lift each other up.
It is easy to forget that change doesn’t need to be big to make an impact, and we don’t need to create it on our own. For students who submit their ideas and participate in the O2 Conference, they’re going to learn this first hand - but the point is that we can share in that journey and use that as inspiration for our launching our own ideas.
To find more, visit the O2 Conference Website, or follow them on Facebook, Instagram or YouTube.
