Since the start of February, the Aspen Challenge has partnered with the San Diego Unified School District, providing schools with materials and a platform to create solutions to some of the most crucial problems the community and humanity face, and a group of UC High students is currently participating in the program.

   According to KPBS, “The first Aspen Challenge was launched in collaboration with the Los Angeles Unified School District in 2013. Since then it has expanded each year to include partnerships with school districts in Denver, Washington D.C., Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Louisville, Miami, New Orleans, and Brooklyn” (kpbs.org).

  The Aspen Challenge’s main focus is to prioritize the well being of humans and the world they live in, helping students visualize what a better society looks like.

   Junior Carley Connor is one of the students at University City High School who is part of this year’s Aspen Challenge team. Connor said, “To be a part of this, I had to volunteer, get interviewed and was then selected from the interview. The topic that we are proposing a solution for is mental health and absenteeism. We have not yet finished planning our solution but we will over the next few weeks.”

  According to the Aspen Institute website, “The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization that focuses on igniting human potential to create new solutions to lead us to a better world. Founded in 1949, the Institute creates change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the greatest challenges in our world today.” The Aspen Challenge’s main focus is to prioritize the well being of humans and the world they live in, helping students visualize what a better society  looks like (aspeninstitute.org).

  According to NBC San Diego, “The topics in the challenge range from homelessness, to immigration, to climate change. The groups meet in two weeks to finalize their topics. They’ll later on present their ideas on May 1 to a panel of judges during the program-culminating Solution Showcase. Awards will include schoolroom technology and other items to be announced” (nbcsandiego.com).

   According to the Aspen Institute website, “After the Challenge Forum, each team will have ten weeks to create solutions to the challenges they selected and will implement their projects in their chosen communities. Three winning teams will be chosen as the Grand Prize winners of the Aspen Challenge, and will then fly to Aspen to present their community solution at the Aspen Ideas Festival in June” (aspeninstitute.org).

   As per the Aspen Challenge website, “Known as a leader in sustainability and progress, San Diego is the ideal partner to align with to explore innovative solutions …. We’re excited to watch as tomorrow’s leaders from San Diego Unified School District take this opportunity to think beyond boundaries and push the limits of their creativity not only to address these critical issues, but to make meaningful change and create a better future for their community” (aspenchallenge.org).