My Story
Zoë Jenkins is a 21-year-old reimagining civic community and education for democracy. She has been recognized as a 2022 Harvard Institute of Politics Emerging Leader, 2021 Aerie Changemaker, and Spring 2020 National Geographic Young Explorer for her work towards creating new systems of education and civic engagement.
She joined the Kentucky Student Voice Team in eighth grade after witnessing disparities in education access at her middle school which prioritized the performance of gifted students over disadvantaged students. Throughout high school, Zoë traveled across Kentucky—facilitating roundtables and workshops with thousands of students around school climate, student voice in decision-making, and their dreams after high school. She also traveled around the country sharing student-led research to education policymakers.
After experiencing pushback from her high school to prioritize emotional and mental wellbeing after school shootings in Kentucky and Florida and the subsequent push to harden schools, Zoë engaged in Civics Unplugged's inaugural fellowship where she found her "you-shaped hole"—reimagining education as a tool for agency and citizenship. She was elected to chair the inaugural Civics 2030 Steering Committee—a group of five kids who directed the alumni community and $10,000 in funding of youth civic projects.
When Zoë reported the escalation of micro-aggressions in her high school STEM program, she was met with an apathetic response, she founded DICCE, an organization empowering an empathy-driven generation through inclusion and anti-racist curriculum and resources. Through DICCE, Zoë has facilitated workshops with Stanford University's d.school, The Nobel Prize Summit, and many youth-centered organizations.
After the onset of COVID-19, Zoë decided to leave high school and pursue an untraditional senior year expanding DICCE, empowering kids with Civics Unplugged, and researching the effects of the pandemic on students with Kentucky Student Voice Team. During her “gap year” she was selected as an Aerie 2021 Changemaker for her work with DICCE, created a podcast fellowship for Kentucky’s least-heard students with support from National Geographic, and highlighted in The Washington Post’s Post Reports and NPR’s All Things Considered.
Zoë graduated from the University of Virginia with highest honors and as an Echols and Ridley Scholar. She earned a B.A. in Political and Social Thought and a B.S.Ed. in Youth and Social Thought. In her free time, you can find her debating something controversial, baking pies, or reading a legal thriller by John Grisham.