StudentsFirst Campus Directors
Jonathan Wall
Campus Director, Morehouse College
Jonathan Wall is from Raleigh, North Carolina and is a senior at Morehouse College studying Sociology and Child Development.
Jonathan is on the board of directors for the Atlanta Branch of the NAACP and has held leadership positions in Morehouse's Pre-Law Society and Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Fraternity. As a first year college student, his editorial "Children Suffer From Injustice by Unequal Schools" was published in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution.
In 2009, he and his best friend founded the Outstanding Community Leaders Scholarship, which provided a $1,000 scholarship to a student from his former high school. And in 2011, he was one of four nationally selected as an Allstate Martin Luther King Jr. Give Back Hero for his community service and advocacy work.
Upon the completion of his undergraduate studies, Jonathan is interested in pursuing a JD/MA in Education Policy and pursuing a career in civil rights and education law.
I was raised to believe Horace Mann's philosophy, that education was the great equalizer. That by going to school, participating, and staying attentive in class, every student would be given the tools necessary for success. However, the proverbial ball is no longer in the student's court. Policies crafted by those who have the best interests of adults, not students, have had a crippling effect on our education system to the point that there is now a swelling national distrust for public education. That is why I believe StudentsFirst is so important. To foster a movement aimed at transforming public education at every level, beginning with grassroots movements across cities, and now, college campuses, StudentsFirst provides the structure for every person to be a part of a movement that affects every person. If we fail to ensure to quality public education for our kids, we fail to ensure a quality future for our country.
Alexandra Nardo
Campus Director, The Ohio State University
Alexandra is a sophomore at The Ohio State University majoring in political science with a minor in education. She is active on campus through activities including the Politics, Society, and Law Scholars Program, the Alumnae Scholarship Housing Program, the Ohio Union Activities Board, Students for Education Reform, and The Ohio Student Education Policy Institute.
Alexandra is employed at OSU Kid Corps, an AmeriCorps sponsored program that focuses on increasing literacy competencies in pre-school aged students.
Alexandra is passionate about education reform because of the variety of opportunities she received as a student in her home school district. She believes that every student, regardless of socioeconomic factors, deserves a top-notch in-class education, along with a variety of extra-curricular options.
Education is the ticket to the future. It is something that we must take personal responsibility for, invest in, and believe in. Whether you are a parent, student, educator, or community member, education is the future for everyone. Many look at America’s education system as a bureaucracy. It has a political element--who gets what, where, when, why and how. I see education as people. It is up to us, as a collective, to ensure that each student, teacher, and parent has the capital needed to succeed in the classroom.
Natalie Gould
Campus Director, University of Pennsylvania
Natalie Gould is a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, and Urban Education. She tutors students in West Philadelphia, is a tour guide, and co-founded Penn Students for Students, an organization dedicated to making change in the field of education.
Natalie’s interest in education reform stems from her experience teaching urban middle school students in the Breakthrough Collaborative. There, she gained insight into some of the challenges facing the Minneapolis public school system.
Following graduation, Natalie is looking forward to pursuing a career in law and education policy.
I support education reform because I believe that education is key to success on an individual and national scale. Ensuring equality of opportunity means eliminating failing schools. Quality education should not be contingent upon the salary of your parents or the zip code in which you are born. Denying a child a good school is equivalent to forever limiting his or her potential success. Education reform is more than politics. By always prioritizing the interests of the students, StudentsFirst is fighting to give all children an opportunity to achieve their dreams.
