Ignite@ASU: Sharing stories to impact others

Everyone has a story to tell. How much impact can yours have in five minutes? 

ASU students Chantal VanKlompenberg, Manuel Angulo Rodriguez and others shared their stories about immigration, abuse, fleeing political violence and more with ASU and community members on Nov. 14 at Ignite@ASU at the Student Pavilion on ASU’s Tempe campus. 

Ignite@ASU is hosted by Changemaker Central every semester. Individuals from the community — students and community members — get five minutes to share their story on a stage in front of an audience. Based off of the “Ignite" presentation platform, where presentations are made up of 20 slides that automatically transition after 15 seconds, the event gives the audience a chance to hear as many different stories as possible in a short amount of time. 

VanKlompenberg is an nontraditional student who decided to return to school to complete a degree in communicationat the same time her daughter was studying at ASU. Fleeing to the United States from Vietnam with her family when she was only 7 years old, VanKlompenberg didn’t speak any English but learned it through mimicking others and watching TV shows because she “tried so hard to be American.” 

The 2019 Ignite speakers

Using Ignite@ASU as a chance to talk about her personal journey, she shared what it was like facing obstacles of cultural identity, language barriers, sexual abuse and what she called an “overall lack of self-confidence.” With the hope to inspire others to keep battling forward no matter the barriers in the way, VanKlompenberg’s story had the audience clapping for her before it was even over. Her story of success gave something everyone can learn from.

“My story is worth telling because falling down is a part of life, but it is how someone bounces back that is most important,” VanKlompenberg said. “I learned from my past and mistakes, and telling my story might inspire someone else to take a brave step forward.”

While coming back to school as a nontraditional student after raising her kids provides its own challenges, it is not one that should hold anyone back from achieving their goals. During her speech VanKlompenberg spoke to this. 

“I realized it was my turn, my time, on my terms to go back to school. So one day I can be able to help someone — little old me.”

With plans to graduate in May 2020 and finally reaching her goal of earning her degree, VanKlompenberg credits her immigrant parents for giving her the chance to better her own life. Sharing her story at Ignite gave VanKlompenberg the chance to see how far she’s come.

“Being selected to speak at Ignite is beneficial as it allows me to heal myself by telling my story. Much of my story has been buried within me for years, and I finally get to let it out,” said VanKlompenberg. “I get emotional just practicing my story. I have attended Ignite before, and we gain an understanding that everybody has a story that should be told. It's the vulnerability that really connects us together.”

Manuel Angulo Rodriguez was also a speaker at Ignite; he took a different approach to sharing his story: through spoken word poetry. 

“It is so graceful to me to express everything that you’re feeling and thinking through analogies, similes and rhymes, and I believe those combinations of words are most powerful when they are performed, as opposed to just being read,” Rodriguez said. 

Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Rodriguez moved to the United States in August 2017 and is finishing up his first semester at ASU. First being exposed to spoken word poetry during high school in the United States, he was immediately drawn to its ability to express emotions on a higher level. Watching many YouTube videos of other poets, he started to emulate their style until he found his own. 

Being a member of the LGBTQ community, Rodriguez struggled with having to navigate his own sexuality, abusive relationships and his journey to the United States, which poetry gave him the outlet to speak about. 

“My performance is about presenting this holistic perspective of myself, expressing profoundly held emotions and narrating the journey that it was to leave everything I ever knew to immigrate to the land of opportunity,” Rodriguez said. “All of this contrasted with the idea of being viewed by only one piece of my being: the fact that I'm a ‘straight looking’ gay male, and how ridiculous it is to boil down who I am to that one considerably insignificant aspect.”

Speaking about personal issues and challenges in front of an audience is not always easy. But by putting himself out there, alone on a stage, Rodriguez was given the chance to get out of his comfort zone and truly make an impact on other people. 

“There is something about being up on a stage and having people be spellbound to your speech that makes me feel impactful. For five minutes, a crowd of diverse individuals get to hear what I have to say. I stand, open and vulnerable but unshaken in front of all of them, and that empowers me to deliver a message I believe is relevant to most of us.” 

Want to share your story? Changemaker hosts Ignite presentations once a semester. Follow Changemaker Central for updates on next semester’s event.