Team Reflection: What We Learned from Student Changemakers 

This year, the Innovation Hub continued its partnership with the Centre for International Experience (CIE) to create the International Students: Global Changemakers documentary. In this blog, the Audiovisual Storytelling team reflects on their experience collaborating with the CIE and videographer Cal Campos to share five stories of student changemakers at U of T. 

Written by the Audiovisual Storytelling Team 

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When we started working on this project, changemaking on a global scale seemed impossibly distant. It was difficult to imagine how we, as students, could make a change that would ripple through communities beyond our own. But if there’s one thing we learned from the stories shared through this project, it’s that change starts small. Real changemakers are those students who can see the potential of small change for big impact, and it was an honour for us to help share their stories. 

The International Students: Global Changemakers project emerged through our collaboration with the Centre for International Experience. This documentary highlights the lived experiences of five international students who have become changemakers through transformative global learning opportunities, captured through first-person video diaries and interviews. By centering the voices of students, the project aims to offer insight into how global learning experiences empower a mindset shift and enable students to emerge as leaders, empowering them to create change in their communities and beyond. 

To Be a Changemaker 

Throughout this project, the question of what being a changemaker means to each participant was constantly brought up, especially in terms of how their changemaking efforts serve communities. Adriana, a graduate engineering student, shared how her undergraduate work made her realize that she would only be fulfilled if she could help others in some way. Now doing her PhD, Adriana chose to focus her engineering research on water access with the goal of helping communities in her home country.    

We also learned that being a changemaker is difficult without a good support system. In the documentary, Emma reminded us that the world is looking for acts of kindness, and that kindness has to be nurtured. Instead of thinking of changemaking as this large, independent venture or an impossible-to-reach goal, his story helped us recognize changemaking for what it was: something that could expand other’s ideas of what’s possible through genuine collaboration. Changing something small to create a positive impact. Allowing others to be themselves. All those things could classify as changemaking. Our team reflected on how working with the documentary participants reframed their idea of changemaking: 

Sadra: “Working with the participants truly opened my eyes to the way small changes make a big impact. Seeing the ways in which the participants began their changemaking work in small ways, often due to the impact of a single mentor, made me realize just how important the university environment is in facilitating that changemaking work.” 

Desiree: “Working with the participants changed my understanding of “changemaking”.  It was interesting to see how changemaking can be smaller steps or a larger goal, and seeing this range really made the idea of changemaking more accessible.” 

Changemaking and Perseverance 

Working with our participants taught us a lot about what it means to be a changemaker. While their stories and experiences are incredibly diverse and each participant had a different approach to changemaking, all of them were propelled by a deeply personal cause.  

In the documentary, Aloha shared that her interest in education sparked after volunteering to run workshops for seniors in her community. After moving to a new country and navigating the transition alone as a student parent, Aloha still recognized when others needed support. We really empathized with her when she shared that she still reckoned with feelings of self-doubt and other anxieties. It was incredibly humbling to see both sides of the story. 

This experience showed us that even those changemakers who appear to have everything figured out still ask themselves, “am I the right person for this task?” When Dzhafar shared that he considered not returning to Canada to finish his studies because of difficulties he faced during his move, we realized that these changemakers are also students like us. So it was even more empowering to hear about how his driving motivation was helping students improve their mental health and find community. The team reflected on the shift in perspective they experienced upon hearing the participants’ vulnerable moments: 

Sadra: “Seeing such accomplished students engage in the same kind of self-doubt really made me realize just how universal these feelings are regardless of where you are in life. Even as students achieve more, learn more, and expand their resumes; they still tend to look back at their accomplishments humbly. Seeing this cycle of goal chasing made me realize just how relative our accomplishments are, as students only hold themselves to higher standards with time.” 

Desiree: “It was nice to see how human and authentic the participants were. As an international student myself, seeing these impressive participants move and adjust to a new country by themselves, and taking some time to figure out what they were passionate about was really insightful.” 

Changemaking on Campus  

The role that the campus community plays in facilitating changemaking work became clear when participants shared stories about those connections and communities that supported them. When Mridula shared how her mentor encouraged her to ask questions, we realized that having a community that motivates people to be curious makes it easier to think about how we can make a positive change on campus.  

Whether through help received from peers and mentors, or simply new friendships, those stories of support changed our perspective about how U of T can encourage students. The team reflected on how the university environment is uniquely situated to support student changemakers: 

Sadra: “I personally related to the participants when they discussed just how important the university environment was in facilitating their changemaking journey. Being surrounded by knowledge and having the opportunity to speak with experts in my field has changed my life. I feel motivated and empowered by their stories of mentorship.” 

Desiree: “Working on the documentary showed me that changemaking starts with how you engage with your day-to-day commitments. Seeing the origin of these students’ changemaking experiences on our campus was really inspiring and made me realize the range of resources available to help us. It was a reminder not to take things for granted.” 

Working on the International Students: Global Changemakers documentary shifted out ideas about changemaking. After we screened the documentary this past April, something that stayed with us was the community that the documentary brought together. Through this experience, and working with the participants, we came to understand that changemaking doesn’t always mean bringing about largescale and sudden change. It also means fostering connections, deepening relationships, and reflecting on your goals. It means doing small things to help those you care about and being an active member of the community. If there’s anything we’d like our fellow students to take away from this project, is that everyone can be a changemaker in their own way.

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