Young People Leading the Way to a Better Future
Musings of the Month
We are never too young (or too old) to have a positive impact on our communities
Legacy Jackson, a fun-loving 14 year-old St. Lousiaian, has been creating and working with community-based organizations to improve the lives of children, youth, and families since she was 7 years old! She has been recognized by the White House, the Missouri General Assembly, and most recently by the St. Louis Board of Alderman for her community service.
Check out her TEDtalk that tells the story of Legacy tagging along with her parents for monthly volunteer service activities as a toddler. This led her to found Little Legacies Community Services – at age 7 – to provide kid-led, service-oriented, and fun activities that help other children and families. Since then, she has involved hundreds of young people ages 2-18 years in monthly service projects, including sending 3,000 pairs of shoes to Africa, providing luggage sets for children in foster care, contributing to diaper banks, book drives, and more. She wants you to know that everyone can do something to give back to their community.
Legacy asks us these important questions:
How can you be an agent of change in your community?
What will you do the next time that you see someone with a need that you can meet?
What will be your legacy of service?
MisinfoDay and IDEACon are two more examples of young people coming together to create a better future for all
MisinfoDay is a series of annual media literacy educational events bringing together high school students, teachers, and librarians to learn how to navigate complex information environments and make informed decisions about using online information wisely. The next event is on March 21 at Washington State University in Vancouver, WA!
The event features a series of interactive workshops led by experts from the University of Washington (UW) and Washington State University (WSU) plus an immersive misinformation-themed escape room game experience – Loki’s Loop. The workshop content is informed by the MisinfoDay Youth Advisory Board, which is made up of students from a number of high schools in Washington state, to ensure the program is fun, relevant, and engaging for teens.
IDEACon is a free day-long conference in St. Louis, MO on March 30 for high school juniors through college seniors. IdeaCon connects students with their "why," while introducing them to mentors, and equipping them with the knowledge and inspiration to drive social equity and innovation in their chosen fields. This event will host industry experts from across the country. Students will engage in specialized workshops in these focus areas:
Education
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility (DEIA)
Engineering & Technology
Arts & Design
Business
Law & Politics
Medicine & Science
Through engaging discussions, workshops, and networking, IDEACon aims to give students ideas on how they can create the future they want both for themselves and their communities as they enter post secondary education and the workforce.
March Resource Highlight
Protecting your digital identity: tips for online security and privacy
Thanks to CMIT Solutions for the following tips and for keeping data2insight’s and our client’s data protected! If you are in need of an IT service provider for your business, we highly recommend them!
In today’s interconnected world, safeguarding our online presence is critical to protect privacy and enhance security. Threats can come from anywhere–text messages, emails, phone calls, or computer hardware or software hacks. Team data2insight encourages everyone to invest time and effort to sustain your digital well-being. A great place to start is to review these tips and take action that will protect your digital identity.
What is a digital identity?
The term encompasses everything we do online and the footprint this activity leaves behind. From social media profiles to online shopping accounts to Internet browser histories, our digital identity is a reflection of who we are and what we do. However, this footprint includes more than just a collection of data points. It’s a representation of our personal and professional lives, making the effective management of it even more important.
Here are some practical tips to enhance and protect your digital identity:
Review and secure all online accounts. Start by conducting a thorough review of the most common apps and platforms you use for social media, email, banking, and other financial transactions. If you have unused or outdated accounts, deactivate or delete them to minimize your digital information and reduce the risk of unauthorized access. Use strong, unique passwords for each account, and consider using an enterprise-grade password manager to securely store and manage your login credentials. Enhance the security of your accounts by enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) wherever possible.
Practice safe online behavior. Mind your digital hygiene—at home and at work. Be mindful of the websites you visit, the digital ads you click on, the links you open, and the files you download. Never log in to sensitive accounts or conduct financial transactions while connected to public Wi-Fi networks. Any time you have to connect to an office network or transmit important files, use secure, encrypted connections and virtual private networks (VPNs) when possible.
Securely dispose of old devices. When it’s time to retire old smartphones, laptops, or tablets, make sure they are securely wiped of any personal data before disposal. If you’re not sure how to do that, seek professional assistance to ensure all data is permanently erased. Bad actors often scour thrift stores and e-waste drop-offs for unsecured devices that might yield an old password, username, or account credential since it only takes one compromised piece of information to potentially break into vast networks of protected data.
Monitor your digital footprint. Regularly monitor your online presence by searching your name or your company’s name to look for incorrect information or illicit activity. Review social media privacy settings periodically since they’re constantly being updated. Monitor credit scores and reports, especially in the wake of any data breach or password leak. Be mindful of the information you share online and take steps to remove or limit access to any sensitive or outdated information.
Book Spotlight
Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism
In this non-fiction book, inspired by her research for the hit podcast Ultra, Rachel Maddow charts the rise of a wild American strain of authoritarianism that has been alive on the far-right edge of our politics for the better part of a century.
Before and even after our troops had begun fighting abroad in World War II, a clandestine network flooded the country with disinformation aimed at sapping the strength of the U.S. war effort and persuading Americans that our natural alliance was with the Axis, not against it. It was a sophisticated and shockingly well-funded campaign to undermine democratic institutions, promote antisemitism, and destroy citizens' confidence in their elected leaders, with the ultimate goal of overthrowing the U.S. government and installing authoritarian rule.
At the same time, a handful of extraordinary activists and journalists were tracking the scheme, exposing it even as it was unfolding. In 1941 the U.S. Department of Justice finally made a frontal attack, identifying the key plotters, finding their backers, and prosecuting dozens in federal court.
None of it went as planned.
The scheme involved a large number of some of the country's most influential elected officials. Their interference in law enforcement efforts against the plot is a dark story of the rule of law bending and then breaking under the weight of political intimidation.
Today’s attack on democracy has roots in the historic events Maddow describes in this book. And the heroic efforts of the activists, journalists, prosecutors, and regular citizens who exposed the insurrectionists can inspire us now to once again divert the destructive rise of authoritarianism forces and continue our journey of co-creating a multicultural society where there is justice for all.
#SelfCareCorner
It is important to take care of your heart at any age
These four people each had a heart attack. Alisse and Meryl were in their early 40s, Steve was in his mid to late 50s, Clyde was 40 and died before he fell to the ground. Since then, Alisse and Meryl endured strenuous recuperation. And 30 years later, Meryl is recovering from her second heart attack while Alisse continues to deal with heart health related problems. Steve is recovering from open heart surgery.
Heart attacks are not reserved for grandparents, parents, retirees, substance abusers or those who have lived their lives on the edges of society. Alisse, Meryl, Steve and Clyde were all health conscious professionals.Every 34 seconds in the United States an adult dies from cardiovascular disease (CVD). That translates to 1.5 million people in the United States who have a heart attack or stroke every year. These are parents, siblings, and friends—all gone because of a disease that is largely preventable.
The good news is that you can help reduce your risk and improve your heart health by following the ABCS!
A: Take aspirin as directed by your health care professional
B: Control your blood pressure
C: Manage your cholesterol
S: Don't smoke
The science behind heartache — and ideas on mending a broken heart
When stress, fear or sadness weigh on us, our hearts can suffer — even break. And there are ways to mend our broken hearts. Sandeep Jauhar, MD is a practicing cardiologist and writer passionate about communicating medicine in all its glorious, quirky, inescapable humanity. He says "A record of our emotional life is written on our hearts." In this 20-minute TED talk, he explores the mysterious ways our emotions impact the health of our hearts -- causing them to change shape in response to grief or fear, or to literally break in response to emotional heartbreak -- and calls for a shift in how we care for our most vital organ.
What’s new @data2insight?
Data2insight Senior Consultant and Advisor Frieda Smith recently served as a volunteer juror for the 45th annual St. Louis High School Mock Trial Competition, reaching over 500 students in 40 schools across Missouri. The mock trials are structured like real courtroom trials following similar rules and procedures to allow high school and college students to learn firsthand how the legal system works and the role judges, lawyers, juries, and witnesses play.
Beyond legal education, the competition nurtures vital life skills such as public speaking and critical thinking. Students labor for months preparing their presentation of the case.
Frieda shared, “I am amazed at how well the students perform their assigned roles. They are extremely well prepared, are knowledgeable of the law, and have learned to show the utmost respect to the volunteer judges (who often are often current judges, sometimes volunteering in their own courtroom) and jurors.”
