NYU Changemaker Center

Meet 2026 Truman Scholar Summer Wildbill (CAS '27), whose work focuses on advancing Indigenous economic sovereignty. Summer grew up on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Eastern Oregon. Her interest in financial education began with a desire to learn for herself. "I spent my free time watching videos, reading, and learning about money, financial systems, and economic empowerment," she explains. That curiosity grew into a way to help others in her community navigate the same questions. An International Relations major, Summer's work focuses on developing culturally relevant financial literacy curriculum for Native American youth and communities. For the past two years, she has worked with her Tribe to help develop a financial literacy application tailored to her community's needs, building on a financial education study she conducted. She has also collaborated with the Federal Reserve Bank, served as a 2026 Champion for Change, and currently interns with the Secretariat of the United Nations' Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. "I hope to see Native youth gain the financial knowledge and confidence needed to support individual self-sufficiency while also strengthening economic sovereignty at the tribal level," she says. With support from the NYU Office of Global Awards, Summer received the Udall Scholarship in 2025 and was named a 2026 Truman Scholar, selected alongside NYU's Sarah Martelly (SPS '27). The two are among just 55 students nationwide named Truman Scholars, one of the country's most prestigious scholarships for aspiring public service leaders, and will each receive $30,000 toward graduate study. Summer plans to attend law school and pursue a career in public policy focused on advancing Indigenous economic sovereignty. Summer’s advice to students is to resist letting the 'fear of missing out' get in the way of setting an intentional path forward. “The most crowded or competitive path is not always the one you are meant to take and meaningful impact often comes from pursuing work that is deeply aligned with your values and purpose." 🔗 Head to the link in our bio to read Summer's story.

As the semester wraps, we're reflecting on some of the year's biggest milestones, starting with Sarah Martelly (SPS '27), the first-ever Truman Scholar from NYU's School of Professional Studies. 🏆💜 Truman Scholar Sarah Martelly’s work focuses on a simple but important question: when people qualify for support, can they actually access it? Sarah studies Politics at the SPS Division of Applied Undergraduate Studies and is interested in how government systems communicate with the people they’re designed to serve. In her Truman Scholarship proposal, Sarah developed what she calls a “Meaningful Access Metric”, which evaluates the readability and Civil rights compliance of government benefit communications, helping identify hidden barriers in design. She draws a direct line between her work and her own story. “The programs that have shaped my path here, like Truman and PPIA, weren’t ones I knew existed for most of my life,” she says. “The barrier was never capacity. It was knowing the door was there to walk through. A lot of what drives me is wanting to be part of building systems where that door is visible, and reachable, for the people who come next.” Sarah connected with scholarship and fellowship opportunities that helped shape both her direction and confidence in public service work. “The Changemaker Center and the Office of Global Awards are valuable because they don’t just help students apply for things,” she says. “They help students figure out who they are and what they’re actually trying to build.” The Truman Scholarship is one of the nation’s most prestigious awards for public service leadership, awarded to college juniors with a strong record of impact and a commitment to creating positive change. 🔗Head to the link in our bio to learn more about Sarah’s story.

Good luck to everyone wrapping up the semester this week 💜 Wishing you clarity, focus, and moments to recharge along the way. #NYU #FinalsWeek #NYUChangemaker

“And that’s what listening can be today: an encounter with civilizations other than your own…no matter who you are.” - Ben Ratliff What is it about music that connects us so instantly, so deeply? We visited @nyuniversity ’s Computational Medicine Lab testing their wearables that visualize biofeedback to music. Our biorhythms synchronized the instant the music sounded. What does this response reveal about listening? Join us for a live listening experiment. Thurs, April 30 — 7pm “What is Music For?” 📍@rhythmicartscenternyc 👥 20 seats only 🎟️ Details + RSVP in bio With: Ben Ratliff (NYU / former @nytimes ) Revanth Reddy (PhD Candidate / CML Lab) Hosted by @carol.gimbel (@nyugallatin MA ‘27) of @wfmu Special thanks to @nyuchangemaker for their generous support

As we head into the final weeks of the semester, we’re looking back at some of our favorite moments. 💜 This spring break, 40 NYU undergraduates spent a week at Camp Changemaker, working with local organizations, building community, and exploring what social impact looks like beyond the classroom. “Camp Changemaker is like an incubator for social impact. We worked with real organizations to pitch how to improve their impact.” — Salah Aldin Rabah, CAS ’27 From idea to action, the week was filled with collaboration, creativity, and a shared commitment to impact. This year’s partners: Asian Creative Foundation, NYC Civic Engagement Commission, One To World, Purpose Tracks, and the Syrian Emergency Task Force. Thank you to our incredible 2026 cohort, our partners and facilitators, and to Bertille Abunganiwe Nkesha (Abu Dhabi ’27), Grace Brooks (Gallatin ’28), Spriha Dharan (Liberal Studies ’29), Salah Aldin Rabah (CAS ’27), and Raphael Zheng (Stern ’29) for sharing their reflections in this reel. ✨ #NYU #NYUCampChangemaker #SocialImpact

Sign Up for NYU’s Featured Event HESSTALK ! Get to know world’s best Researchers in person and help train yourself in art of science communication and research presentations! Link in Bio and Sign Up soon - Limited spots Some of Our Featured Speakers !!!

Sign Up for NYU’s Featured Event HESSTALK ! Get to know world’s best Researchers in person and help train yourself in art of science communication and research presentations! Link in Bio and Sign Up soon - Limited spots Powered by @nyuchangemaker

“In this moment, how do we as artists reclaim our humanity and dynamically move to change the social order?” - Alice Teyssier, panelist, Living Music— Thurs Apr 16, 7pm @rhythmicartscenternyc RSVP link in bio Thank you for the generous support of @nyuchangemaker

We’re interrupting regular museum programming to announce an exciting event: Join BLLING on April 13 from 6-7:30pm for a zine making workshop led by art education professor Jessica Hamlin! Together, we’ll reflect on and respond to linguistic hierarchies in our lives. Free dinner and supplies provided! We express gratitude to the @nyuchangemaker , our sponsor for this event, for supporting our mission of advancing languaging justice.

It’s here! The official poster for the 2026 Social Impact Hackathon has arrived. 📍 NYU Wasserman Center, 133 E 13th St, New York, NY 10003  📅 May 30 (Sat) | 9:30 AM–5:30 PM  📅 May 31 (Sun) | 9:30 AM–5:30 PM (Pitch Day)  Two days. Real challenges. Real impact.  Join the hackathon, link in bio ✨

🎁 Today is #NYUOneDay, marking 10 years of the NYU community coming together to invest in students. For over a decade, the Changemaker Center has empowered students with the resources, tools, and networks to take action on the causes and communities they care about most. In the past year alone: • 28 students earned Fulbright awards heading to 21 countries • 45 Gilman Scholarships awarded for study abroad, nearly 3× the number from just two years ago • 2 Truman Scholars named • 14 student-led social impact projects funded through Changemaker Collective Grants • 1,460 CAS first-years completed the Authoring Your NYU Story seminar, setting them up for high-impact learning from day one That's what a decade of investing in students looks like. And that's just part of the story. Every number is a student who showed up with a vision. Your gift helps so many more get there too. 🔗 Make a gift today: bit.ly/oneday-cc [Link in bio] #NYU #NYUOneDay #SocialImpact @nyugivingandimpact

Celebrate Women’s History Month with Latina Leaders in Public Service 💜✨ Join us for an evening of real talk, powerful stories, and meaningful connection, starting with a reception + dinner, followed by a panel featuring Latina elected leaders across government sharing their journeys, lessons learned, and the policy challenges impacting women and Latinx communities. 📅 March 10, 2026 🕕 6:00–8:00 PM 📍 Wagner Student Event Spaces | 105 E 17th St, Room 101 RSVP required — link in bio. Co-hosted by @wagnercitygov , @nyuchangemaker , @wagnerwomxn , @nyuprsa . #ALAS #NYUWagner #WomensHistoryMonth #LatinaLeaders #PublicService #CivicEngagement #LatinxInPolicy #WomenInGovernment #NYCEvents