Senior works to bring civic organizing skills to class

After starting Register, an organization aimed at helping young women at USC register to vote prior to the 2018 midterm elections, senior Ellie Burger knew she wanted to dive deeper into the world of civic organizing. As the first communication major and woman from USC to be awarded the Presidential Fellowship from the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, which provides college students the opportunity to learn about presidential leadership and governance, Burger has become an essential contributor to the start of nonprofit The Institute for Civic Organizing, where she is now working to bring civic organizing skills to students in the classroom.

“It’s [been] one of the most incredibly rewarding experiences because it just kind of shows me that your education isn’t limited to your university — it doesn’t stop there,” Burger said. “You can make the most of your education and your involvement in your community.”

It was through the fellowship that Burger was able to attend the Presidential Fellows Conference in Washington D.C. in October with fellow TICO founders, Uma Kalkar, Hannah Zimmerman and Maya Ungar, all college students from different universities. Together, the four launched the nonprofit to address the gap of civic engagement in formal education by providing a toolkit for students of all ages with suggestions on how to engage with communities through academic intervention and programs that bring activism into the classroom. 

Burger serves as the director of communications for the organization and is in charge of maintaining press relations, developing brand identity and implementing corporate communication strategies within TICO. She is also responsible for maintaining TICO’s image as an engaging, youth-driven, well-sourced and, most importantly, a revolutionary organization, Burger said. 

One of TICO’s programs, Organizing Civics, is the first standardized curriculum on social and civic organizing adjusted for primary, secondary and post-secondary schooling for students around the world. For this program, Burger works to create a universal image to represent TICO and effectively convey TICO’s message to potential education nonprofit partners. 

“There isn’t any curriculum centered around civic organizing,” Burger said. “Something that really sets us apart is that we found a gap and we’re trying to fill that … We are really actively sourcing a significant amount of lesson plans and information from people who are really experienced in [civic organizing].” 

The Organizing Civics curriculum consists of 225 individual lesson plans for teachers to integrate into their classrooms. It aims to cover the holistic experience of civic organizing — from describing successful examples in history, such as the civil rights suffragette movements, to including theories on apathy and reluctance to join a civic cause. The curriculum also provides specific technical instructions on shifting an idea into legitimate action by mobilizing resources, contacting donors and volunteers and addressing potential legal matters. 

Although she knows not every student has the intent of starting the next major social movement, Burger said she believes it’s essential for today’s youth to know they can create change within their communities and learn about the skills and resources to do so.

“I genuinely think that it’s important for people who see an issue in the world around them to do what is in their power to fix that,” Burger said. “I think that’s a part of who I am and how I’ve been raised, but I think it’s also a part of being a Trojan and part of the USC identity.”

Kalkar, a senior at the University of Toronto, said the goal is to help students become global citizens by focusing the curriculum’s examples and topics on the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, including zero hunger, climate action and reduced inequality.

Although tackling some of these goals presented by the UN may feel ambitious for the average student, Burger said creating impactful change is not as daunting as it seems. 

“It’s not that hard to make change,” Burger said. “It’s hard to start yourself on that process to make it. Once you set your mind to it, it’s pretty easy, and people are pretty willing to change. It’s just that a lot of people aren’t there to motivate them.”

Zimmerman, a junior at Stanford University, said having Burger on the TICO team since the beginning has made the entire experience more enjoyable and efficient since she knows how to take advantage of her own skills and helps to accentuate the skills of others. 

“She’s just infectiously enthusiastic and positive, and she can make two-hour group calls feel like they’re 15 minutes long,” Zimmerman said. “She sees the best in everyone, and it can be really easy with someone who’s a little bit more reserved, like I am, to work with her because she manages to bring out the extrovert in you and she really is a team player.”

Burger and her peers at TICO said they believe that current civics classes at the high school and college levels are insufficient in teaching students how to apply their knowledge on government and policy into tangible and effective civic organizing, which discourages them from making that first step.

“A big part of this is making sure that the information we’re providing is accessible to the people that we are trying to reach,” Burger said. “You can provide people with resources but if they don’t understand what you’re saying, you’re not really impacting them or helping them at all. Ultimately, we want this to be a very accessible and youth-driven curriculum.

Burger said working with TICO has not only helped satisfy her interest in civic organizing but also reminds her that there is hope for future generations to tackle today’s biggest problems. 

“Even in uncertain times, there’s a foundation of people who genuinely want to make the world a better place,” Burger said. “And I think that’s something that excites me and kind of makes me feel a little more confident in where we’re going as a country.” 

Burger, who is graduating this semester, said working with her peers on TICO and developing their curriculum have been some of her favorite memories during her time at USC. 

“Honestly, some of my most fond memories of my senior year are going to be sitting in my sorority in my room, writing a curriculum for other students,” Burger said. “The fact that [creating change with the nonprofit] is even possible for me is mind-boggling. It just proves that if you want to do something, do it.”