by Matt Farrell Social media activism has always fascinated me. Clearly keyboards can raise wide awareness, but those who use them are commonly challenged by the question “what are you doing to help in real life?” This is what made the 2016 Standing Rock protests so unique. When the Dakota Access Pipeline was announced to Read More
by Jason Allen Let’s recap the definition of Social Excellence (n): A state of perpetual generosity, curiosity, positivity, and openness to limitless possibility. A desire to intentionally connect with others. The ability to engage in deep, meaningful conversation. Acting in a responsible and respectable manner with high expectations of others. Being authentic and living everyday Read More
by Jason Allen In 2012, Phired Up won the AFA Award for Excellence in Educational Programming for our innovative Be The Person Program (BTP). That program partnered with Mike Dilbeck and the RESPONSE ABILITY Project, and it focused on bystander intervention, values alignment, Social Excellence, leading community change, and determining one’s connection and mattering to Read More
by Dr. Colleen Coffey-Melchiorre The world will amaze you if you let it. I consider myself somewhat of a social anthropologist. That’s a fancy way of saying I am a people watcher. I observe folks all around me – in airports, on campuses, at school pick-up, in the yoga studio, in line at Starbucks, or Read More
by Dr. Colleen Coffey-Melchiorre Traveling with #BabyJune so far been an absolute blast. I enjoy some aspects of travel, mostly the making of new friends. I try hard to practice my craft on planes – being friendly, being a host, and loving others in whatever space they are in (even if they are taking up Read More
Editor’s Note: This blog is a little longer than normal (and we don’t even mention fraternities, sororities, Social Excellence, or recruitment by name!). We strongly recommend you check it out and share it with someone who could use help finding their “Little Me” and being a little more vulnerable, one of the four pillars of Social Read More
By Taylor Deer In 2015, a census was conducted by a group called Common Sense Media. They surveyed 2,658 US children between the ages of 8 -18 years old about their media usage, or “screen time”, on a daily basis. Between TV, Online Videos, DVD’s, Music, Social Media, Gaming, Reading, and Mobile Media, teenagers (13 Read More
By Matt Mattson I’ve always been mystified by machines like dehumidifiers. They seem magic. They suck moisture out of the air without you ever noticing what’s really going on or how it’s really happening. Flick a switch, listen as the machine makes a dull whirr, and after a while there you are just enjoying a Read More
By Erin Chatten I am beyond excited to be starting a new adventure as the Research Director for Phired Up Productions. Now, I know what we all think when we think of the word “research”… nerdy. Well guess what? I am a nerd! I nerd out on the daily, whether due to my overly detailed, Read More
By Taylor Deer Everyone remembers conversations they’ve had where time seemed to stand still. Where their attention is laser-focused on the other person. Even though we may have had a million things on our mind, we are solely focused on the present moment and what’s happening in the conversation. The types of conversations where at Read More