1G: Design Lab

● Founded in 2018 by Kristi Johns

Background ● Doctoral Student at Northwestern
of 1G ● Funded by Grants
● Startup
● Small Group: 2 interns and our
supervisor

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 We are a community of
● Storytellers (noun): courageous leaders who teach
& guide by sharing their experiences and insights
Our Mission through first-hand stories.
and
● Space-makers (noun): those who proactively use
their influence, connections, privilege and power to
cede “ownership” and create space for the
leadership of storytellers.
working to re-center the voices of students on the
margins of higher education.

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“ The danger of a single
story

-Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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 We build our storytelling around 3 core values:
● Power: Creating tools to help faculty and students
Core Values learn how to listen with empathy, and in turn
redistributing power.
● Ownership: Owning the margins; owning your
identity; flipping the negative narrative of social
media and using it for empowerment.
● Community: Creating digital spaces to build
community and foster social capital.

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 Culture of
Organization ● Startup, very small, no office really
● Conflict Resolution: We have brought up if there
are issues, such as responsibilities we distributed.

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 Organizational Chart

Kristi Johns
Founder, Director

Ethan Lauren
Intern Intern

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External ● Department of Student Diversity and Multicultural
Partners Affairs
○ Work closely with STARS Program
○ Most of the interviews found as alumni of
STARS
● South by Southwest (SXSW) EDU
○ Finalist for Presenter

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 ● We are giving voices to students of marginalized
identities, students whose voices are often
Political and silenced.
Social Issues ● Many issues do affect these groups, and we are a
space for them to talk about them

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 ● We are very in the loop, and manage the social
media accounts
Intern Life ● Involved in Research about the subject
● Team meetings are us and Kristi
● Challenge: Understanding boundaries of work
limits
● Very open communication with supervisor

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 ● Instagram stories

Work so far

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 ● “Humans of New York” style posts
○ Photographing students, curating interviews
Current
Project

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 ● Gained insight to being a student
Interviews diversity staff member
● Very passion driven, many individuals
there willing to speak up and make
change
● A lot of listening

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