A seven-week program where students address real community problems using their existing strengths and interests — guided, not forced.
Students face real constraints — limited time, unclear authority, competing demands. Yet most leadership programs ignore these realities and expect students to "just lead." ACTUALIZE guides students to work within their constraints, align their identity with action, and create change in areas they actually care about.
National surveys show that only about one-third of college students have held a leadership position during their time on campus.
ACTUALIZE creates pathways to leadership by helping students remove limiting beliefs and align identity with community impact.
Seven weeks. Three phases. One documented community intervention.
Identify the limiting beliefs that constrain your sense of impact. Leadership begins when you question assumptions like "I'm just a student" or "this isn't my place."
Discover what you genuinely care about and align it with long-term goals. Make a plan for your future direction and choose a Community Intervention that reflects where you want to go.
Complete a Community Intervention — a short-term, student-led action that produces documented before-and-after improvement.
Every participant completes one intervention within seven weeks. Not an idea. Not a plan. A finished action with visible impact. Below are just a few examples — your intervention will reflect your unique interests and community context.
Design and run a workshop that increases access or capability in your community
Transform an underused campus space into something functional or welcoming
Submit a formal proposal that improves or pilots a campus process
Create a public resource that solves a real navigation or information gap
Coordinate people or organizations around a neglected issue
Build something tangible that addresses a problem you've personally experienced
Different interests. Same standard.
Students leave ACTUALIZE knowing — not hoping — that they can create real change. Communities leave improved.
You learn to notice what's broken, missing, or neglected — and recognize when you're positioned to fix it.
You stop waiting for authority and start taking responsibility for problems you can solve.
You learn to work within limited time, resources, and authority — the reality of most leadership.
You complete a documented intervention in seven weeks, proving you can finish what you start.
Gain access to a national community of chapter founders, student leaders, alumni, mentors, and professional connections that support your continued growth.
Albert Bandura, Stanford University
Decades of research show that the strongest predictor of future initiative and persistence is not motivation or instruction, but mastery experiences — successfully taking action that produces real-world results.
When students identify a problem, act on it, and see evidence that their actions caused change, they develop a durable belief: "My actions matter."
ACTUALIZE operates through campus-based cohorts. Apply to join a program, or bring ACTUALIZE to your campus.
