Andrew Brennen: Making student voices heard

There were two main reasons why incoming first-year student Andrew Brennen ultimately chose to attend Carolina: the Robertson Scholars Leadership Program (from which he earned a full scholarship and will also receive student privileges at Duke) and the state of North Carolina, itself.

“It’s a state that has a lot of interesting history behind education in particular, and it’s at a turning point,’’ said the 18 year old. “A lot of government interests are shifting, and what that means for social issues in the state, especially education, is pretty relevant. And I figured as long as I was going to go to college, I could do it in a place where I can take my beliefs and passions and apply them to a place where I can do some good work.”

Brennen has been passionate about policy since he was a kid sitting around the dinner table talking issues with his parents, both lawyers. A lover of all things news – CNN, Fox, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart – he became more and more interested in educational policy as he attended schools in three different states before spending his final four high school years at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Lexington, Kentucky.

Moving so much gave Andrew a diverse set of experiences, but “education always seemed to be the common denominator,” he said. Having seen what an education did for his father, who was the first in his family to graduate college, Brennen said he decided early that getting a world class education “shouldn’t be dependent on your zip code or wealth level.”

That in mind, during the fall of his junior year, he responded to a call from the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, a non-partisan, non-profit group designed to push improvements in Kentucky education. The Development Director, Rachel Belin, wanted to bring together a group of students and get their thoughts. During a coffee shop meeting with four others, they talked about the need for students to have a say in what works, and what doesn’t, in their classes, and the Student Voice Initiative was born.

“Our goal is to integrate student voice with that of adult policy makers on an equal level and on equal terms surrounding education policy,’’ Brennen said. “Our overall idea was that we students were spending 35 hours a week in the classroom, but when changes are made to the classroom, no one was asking us what worked and what didn’t. And that conversation, that dialogue, seemed like it should be a next step, and it wasn’t. … We weren’t reinventing the wheel, we weren’t making any new arguments – we’re simply taking the voices of students from across the state and amplifying them to make sure the adult policy makers were hearing them and taking them into account when making decisions that affect us. Students are the chief stakeholder in the education system.”

Since then, they have been heard. The Student Voice Initiative has testified in front of the Kentucky State legislature, published several editorials in local publications, been invited to speak at conventions across the state, helped lead a campaign that resulted in the largest budget reinvestment in Kentucky Public Schools since before the 2008 recession and was quoted in TIME Magazine.

“We’ve made a difference; we are changing the narrative,’’ said Brennen, who also served as captain of his debate team, was a state champion in Public Forum debate, was a U.S. Senate page, plays the cello and enjoys soccer and ultimate Frisbee.

And Brennen wants to continue making a difference at Carolina where, as a Robertson Scholar, he plans to major in business administration and political science, work with the Center for Teaching Quality and perhaps participate in student government.

“I’m not exactly sure what my future holds,’’ Brennen said. “But I’m excited about what comes next.”