Change We Believe In

Much like fellow students at Clark University in Worcester, MA, Jenkins Macedo (pictured right) spends most of his time attending class, completing research projects, and studying.  But what makes the 24-year-old graduate student stand apart from most of his classmates is his past: He spent 14 years living as a refugee in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Ghana.  That’s why instead of going to parties and other social events, like many college and graduate students do in their free time, Macedo dedicates his spare hours to working with local youth, volunteering, giving lectures on the importance of diversity, blogging about social and economic change, and otherwise doing his part to make this world a better place.  He is especially passionate about protecting the rights of refugees, a cause that’s very near and dear to his heart.  “As a refugee myself, I have decided to devote my life to creating awareness about refugee issues and creating change in the process,” he said.  He is