Man on a mission

Jamie Arron is the DSU's leadership director. (Nick Pearce Photo)

If you meet Jamie Arron, he may be wearing one of his many hats.

You may see him wearing his student hat, hurrying off to make his “art and science of drumming” class in the Dal Arts Centre.

Or maybe you’ll spot him at Halifax City Hall donning his researcher’s cap; he works there three days a week doing research for the mayor's office on issues affecting youth and community development.

If not at the mayor’s office, you’ll find him in the Dal SUB, where he works the other two days a week as the Dalhousie Student Union’s leadership director promoting student-led initiatives.

And always he sports his hat as the founder of Mavericks of Social Change, which he created just out of high school to encourage youth to become “committed citizens and creative individuals.”

“What motivates me?” he asks repeating the question. “I’ve caught a bug, and as it takes effect, I just get more and more excited … each day is the best day of my life because I’ve just gotten that much further.”

In his third year of international development studies at Dalhousie, he’s a believer in the power of his generation to come to grips with society’s major challenges—the environment and the ailing healthcare system among them. The key, he says, is harnessing the great ideas of young people and making them work for communities.

'Personal mission'

“These aren’t jobs that I have, they’re part of a personal mission to show to the rest of society what youth are capable of if given support.”

The 20-year-old from Markham, Ont. says he wasn’t always so driven. He took a year off after high school to figure out where his head was at and came up with Mavericks of Social Change, a nonprofit organization now operating out of Halifax to encourage civic engagement and enhance entrepreneurial skills while creating a new model for education.

“The traditional model of one teacher and 30 students doesn’t jibe with the realities of today,” says Mr. Arron.

Thanks to Sarah Palin, who overused the word during last year’s presidential campaign in the U.S., he doesn’t have to explain what “maverick” means anymore. Although, he adds, explaining what Mavericks does still takes some time.  

Mavericks of Social Change houses three educational programs, a school arts program that places 40 student facilitators in five Halifax schools; the “peace jam” program which connects youth in Grades 7 to 10 with Nobel laureates and acts as a forum to explore environmental and social issues; and a cooperative education program for high school students.

Social innovation

It was while leading 10 kids from Oxford Junior High School in Halifax to meet Nobel laureate Rigoberta Menchu in Boston that Mr. Arron caught the attention of the Dalhousie Student Union and was asked to spearhead its social innovation challenge. As “a rogue member of the DSU,” he says with a laugh, he’s been charged to consult with student societies and student leaders. He’s been talking about social innovation and holding out a carrot of $2,500 to be awarded to the society with the best ideas.

Through the fall, societies have been coming to the DSU with concepts and ideas for action based on community needs. In the new year, five finalists will be chosen, and then a top pick selected by students attending the DSU conference The Gathering.

“Students want to be engaged but they’re so skeptical,” says Mr. Arron. “This process should help to make students more aware of what they can do to take action around a cause. I can't wait to see the project ideas come to life.”

Jamie Arron will be writing a column for Dalnews in December and January about the DSU’s leadership initiatives. If you’ve got an idea you’d like to bounce off him, e-mail him at jamie.arron@dal.ca.