Video 2
Question: Describe your own path to advocacy and civic engagement.

Speaker: David Hale, JD
Adjunct Assistant Professor, UMUC
Vice President for External Relations, Planned Parenthood

I believe like most folks said, advocacy kind of spoke to me early on, and I was always in search of a cause—maybe  an advocate in search of a cause is a good way to put it. And for people who feel that way, I think the first step is education. I think you can only really be an effective change agent if you are knowledgeable about the issues that you're passionate about.  And usually through that education you’re going to identify some place where you believe you can have impact, and some place where you believe change is necessary to improve the lives of others and our society as a whole.  The way I have become a professional advocate is continuing my education through undergraduate schools studying behavioral science, the way that change is created, the way that we organize others.  And then I went to law school to teach myself how to create change in a legal context. I did that because I felt like it was the most direct path to doing the type of work I wanted to do.  But also because having knowledge of the legal system is a very effective tool for creating change. After law school, I made a commitment to working in public interest in the social justice sector. And I've pursued every opportunity I had for any cause I felt passionate about. That has been the driving force of my whole career and that is why I am really satisfied with the path I’ve chosen.

Speaker: Megan Deaton
UMUC Honor Society President, Pi Gamma Mu
Maryland Theta Chapter

I’m currently involved in a few projects. Team Running Strong is an organization that assists American Indian children on the reservations across the United States. What we do is we provide backpacks for children that they get to take home on the weekends.  It is full of healthy food and it's enough to share with the entire family, just because there is not enough on their reservations. We also help them with utilities. Our reservations in the north, they often times don’t have enough money to heat their houses, so we will assist them with heating. There are all sorts of programs like youth programs, just to help them with their self-esteem. We help with planting organic gardens; we've also assisted them with digging wells, providing fresh water for them.  So there's all sorts of different things that we can do I mean literally from helping with food to housing, to health care, to education.  I think we’re doing a really good job in helping them. I’m also involved in the health and fitness industry. And I do offer free online support for people who want to lose weight, for people who want to know more about a healthy and active lifestyle.  I also do free talks; I have gone to different gyms. At no cost at all, I just come out there for the members who want to learn more about it. I will do talks and motivational speaking. I’ve also volunteered at the local fire department. So I’m pretty involved with the community. I’m a little bit all over the place, and I think that’s good, too. I think it's good not to put all of your energy into one place, because when you do that, I think you get a little tunnel vision and you’re not able to see the bigger picture.

Speaker:          Jean Accius, PhD
Adjunct Associate Professor, UMUC
Director, Health & LTSS, AARP Office of Policy Integration

I honestly think that all of us are advocates in one shape, form, size or another. I was raised by my grandmother, and had the opportunity to see her and continue to see her as she aged. So I knew at a very early part of my life that I wanted to advocate on behalf of older adults, and to ensure that as they aged that they had the dignity and the sense of independence and respect that they so rightly deserved.  And to insure that the structures and policies that we have in place reinforce that.