Jessi Kwek
has been an ambassador at Rise for two years, working first to help people make plans to vote in the fall of 2020, then to provide people information about vaccines in summer 2021. Now, Jessi is a rising senior at Eastern Michigan University studying Political Science and Sociology, and she is excited for the expanded leadership and advocacy opportunities that being a fellow will bring. Jessi is a senator on EMU’s Student Government, where she works to improve student engagement on campus, and focuses on issues of college affordability and food access on Eastern’s campus and in the community of Ypsilanti. Jessi believes that local advocacy and community involvement are just as important, if not more important, than national politics in making a meaningful difference in people’s lives, and that college students are the life force behind this work. Jessi plans on using her knowledge and experience from her schooling and from advocacy through Rise to obtain a Master’s degree in Urban Planning because she believes that this field has a significant impact on the way that communities form and organize.
