52 Ways to Change the World
Hundreds Attend Extension's Open House to Learn How to Make a Difference

Ioana Patringenaru | March 24, 2008

How do you change the world and still make it home on time for dinner? Hundreds of members of the UCSD and San Diego communities gathered in the Price Center Ballroom Thursday evening to look for an answer to that very question.

More than 600 people turned out for UCSD Extension's Open House March 20 at the Price Center Ballroom.

They were attending UCSD Extension’s Open House, which promised to provide 52 different ways to change the world – enough for every week of the year. The free event included exhibits, demonstrations, roundtable discussions, speakers, music and the opportunity to network with cause-oriented companies and career services experts.

“I know changing the world is a pretty tall order,” UCSD Extension Associate Dean Bruce Dunn told the audience Thursday. “But I feel very inspired. We’re going to take a good first step this evening.”
 
UCSD Extension believes in the power of lifelong learning to help communities and individuals adapt and change, Dean Mary Walshok said. The open house was designed to reflect this belief by offering the public a chance to discover new career paths, to learn about innovative social enterprises and to listen to high-profile speakers, she added.

More than 600 people attended the event, almost twice as many as during Extension’s last open house. Attendees heard from leadership guru Will Marre, co-founder and former president of the Covey Leadership Center, where he translated the concepts of Stephen Covey’s "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" into leadership courses taught to more than one million executives worldwide. As CEO of the ReaLeadership Alliance, he helps leaders identify, communicate and implement new social and strategic models.

In addition to Extension departments, many nonprofit organizations and government agencies attended the event.

“I am here to talk about you, to talk about your life and your career choices,” Marre told the audience Thursday.

He urged attendees to ask themselves about their dreams. A lot of people say they want to become movies stars, athletes and rock stars, he said. “That’s not your dream,” Marre cautioned. “That’s the dream that’s sold and packaged to us.”

Instead, he asked audience members to go beyond these stereotypes and uncover their true character and talents. Do they like to follow a process and get it just right? Or do they prefer to be creative and think outside the box? The answer to these questions will help determine character traits, he said.

Uncovering true talents is more difficult, Marre admitted. What you’re good at comes to you so easily that you don’t usually recognize it as a talent, he said. Here friends and co-workers can help, he added. He told the audience to ask others at work and at home “What do you really value about me?” The combination of character traits and talents will lead you to your dreams, he explained.

Marre also warned against making specific plans. Life yields too many surprises to do that, he said. Instead, he advocated for a life vision that can carry over several decades. “Establish a rhythm of life that forever removes a sense of exhaustion,” he said.

Author and motivational speaker Will Marre signed copies of his latest book.

After Marre’s speech, many stood in line to buy his latest book and get it autographed. Cassandra Cupples was thumbing through the volume, titled “Your Dreams on Fire.” She quit her marketing job last December. She had started crying regularly on her way to work, she explained. “The relief I have right now is worth so much more than the paycheck I was getting,” she said.

She now would like to use her expertise in project management to secure a job in an organization dealing with environmental concerns. She had already spotted several companies at the open house that she wanted to talk to.

Project Concern International might have been one of them. The nonprofit health and humanitarian aid organization is dedicated to preventing disease, improving community health and promoting sustainable development. A crowd had gathered around the group’s table Thursday night.

“We gave up all our stuff,” said Uli Imhoff Heine, the organization's director of development. Events like the open house help the organization get the word out about its mission, she said. Thursday, Project Concern International was publicizing its Walk for Water Saturday in Los Angeles. The event is designed to draw attention to the lack of safe drinking water in many parts of the world.

Staff members working of UCSD's Environment and Sustainability Initiative took part in the Open House.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the Price Center Ballroom, Kristin Blackler, an analyst for UCSD’s Environment and Sustainability Initiative, was publicizing several events coming up on campus during Earth Week in April. She also handed out fliers for a business forum titled “The Value of Green,” featuring Ray Anderson, described in The New York Times as “perhaps the leading corporate evangelist for sustainability.” Being able to talk to attendees and other exhibitors was very helpful, Blackler said.

“Everybody is doing something and it’s great to share that,” she said. “We’re all working together.”

Thursday’s open house also gave participants the opportunity to learn more about UCSD Extension’s new Center for Global Volunteer Service, which offers two online courses for people interested in a vacation with a purpose. “Voluntourism” — combining a trip abroad with volunteering on local projects — has been a growing trend since people around the world felt compelled to pitch in and help victims of the 2004 tsunami that disrupted the lives of people from Indonesia to India.

“At UC San Diego Extension, we believe that great social and economic prosperity comes from integrating the collective knowledge of the university, community leaders and professionals,” Extension Dean Walshok said. “These are just a few of the ways our university is expanding its local impact, national reputation and global reach.”

Extension Director of Communications Henry DeVries contributed to this report.