Change the World event to celebrate and showcase ASU student innovation

Editor's note: This is part of a a series of stories about ASU students who are making a difference in their own fields and communities leading up to the Change the World event on March 27, 2019, at Sun Devil Stadium. More information is available at changetheworld.asu.edu.

Change the World is coming to Sun Devil Stadium March 27 at 5 p.m. for an unprecedented opportunity for ASU students to celebrate and share their innovative ideas through art, exhibits, performances and pitches.

The community event will feature a fun and interactive experience where students can showcase their ideas for how to change the world and make connections to bring their projects to fruition. Students will receive feedback from experts in the field while the atmosphere allows all who attend to enjoy live performances and interactive exhibitions featured on multiple stages that will enliven Kush Field.

Organizing committee member Diana Chen, a senior computer science major at ASU, said that Change the World is an event that will help students see amazing things in action or discipline, but also show how anyone can help change the world in their own area of interest.

“Changing the World can be anything big or small. But it’s about affecting the environment or the communities around you in a positive way,” she said.

From left: Tyler Brown with Free Hugs Project's Ken Nwadike Jr. and fellow PAB member Jess Breeden at ASU's UNITE Week

For master’s in management technology student Surya Ramani Iyer, change takes the form of sustainability in industry.

“Nature doesn’t understand waste, and I believe we can truly change the world by eliminating the concept of waste,” he said. “I am passionate about creating more systems and processes that fundamentally redefine the current supply chain.”

Ramani Iyer leads the marketing committee for Change the World and says that the event will help students see themselves as part of a culture of innovation.

“It all begins with one idea, a little bit of perseverance and a never-give-up attitude. Each one of us has the capacity to make an impact, however when everyone comes together, the impact extends by a significant extent.”

Tyler Brown, a junior accounting and sports business double major, is on the run-of-show committee. He’s a member of the Programming and Activities Board, and he’s excited about working on an arena-sized event. He said Change the World is about making something that brings together ASU and the community.

For Brown, addressing mental health is one way that he wants to change the world.

“As a student but more as a person, I make it my goal daily to use whatever platform I have to show people that they aren’t alone and that we all deal with mental challenges … I think it’s a topic that doesn’t really get enough light on it because people are sometimes afraid to talk about it, or simply just don’t want to,” he said.

Chen, who is also a student director at Changemaker Central in Tempe, said access to education and sustainability are the issues on which she would like to make an impact. She’s excited to celebrate the ways ASU students are already innovating in traditional and nontraditional ways and showing through Change the World that there’s a space for all Sun Devils to come make a connection, pitch an idea, learn a new skill and make an impact.

“I’ve always believed that anyone and everyone can be considered an innovator,” she said. “Come be a part of the larger Change the World movement.”

Details on the schedule; how to register to secure your space on the field to showcase your idea through art, exhibits, performances, and pitches; and more are available at changetheworld.asu.edu.