Throughout the 2022-23 academic year, the three recipients of the St. Olaf College George Floyd Fellowship for Social Change developed a project focused on advancing racial justice, social justice, and equity. Each of these students — AD Banse ’23, Jordan Embry ’23, and Ruhama Solomon ’24 — share what inspired their project and the impact they hope it has had.

Jordan Embry ’23 applied to become a George Floyd Fellow in order to make an impact on students’ lives. His project, To The Top, took students of color on trips to different locations across the United States to expand their horizons in culture, wellness, and entrepreneurship.

This year Embry took St. Olaf students to Phoenix, Arizona, and Las Vegas, Nevada, where they learned about different business and entrepreneurship opportunities and networked with Ole alumni.

Embry became interested in becoming a George Floyd Fellow after learning about the program from former football teammate Isaac Coutier ’22, who used his fellowship to form a collective focused on financial literacy, financial prosperity, and financial opportunity for all of its members. Courtier helped Embry realize that the opportunities and options for the fellowship are limitless, and there are a number of ways he can make an impact on other students. This project is Embry’s way of contributing to the St. Olaf community and giving other students the chance to see and experience someplace new. 

While speaking about his project Jordan brought up some of the issues he encountered during the planning process. One of the biggest being scheduling time where other students would be available for a trip away from campus. Jordan says “I began planning the trip in September but I wasn’t able to finalize a time until February. Since the trip was pushed back I adjusted my plan and made it a Spring Break trip.” Secondly was choosing a location that would benefit others to visit and making sure everyone could afford to go. Jordan says that from this project he developed skills in management, budgeting, networking and problem solving. 

Embry plans on receiving his diploma from St. Olaf in December of 2023. He’ll stay on campus for the whole school year so Jordan may become a George Floyd Fellow again next year. Once Embry leaves campus he plans to move to Dallas, Texas, and start his full-time job.