One year ago, we committed to helping more students find their path to college. One year ago we started to dream in big ways FOR students, if only to inspire them to do that for themselves. One year ago we saw the potential, began to understand the situation and set out to light a fire. 

But 11 people can’t do that alone. Before the initiative’s launch, Black Sheep rallied some of our best agency friends (Always Creative, CulturePilot, Ell Creative, January Advisors, Poetic Systems and Primer Grey—later affectionately referred to as #TeamHOUsa) to ideate and create Better Make Room. The campaign was designed to appeal to Generation Z students as part of the First Lady’s Reach Higher Initiative and, as an engagement campaign, our job was (and still remains) to connect Gen Z students—high school students—with the resources and guidance that they needed to continue their education. 

The U.S. once held the number one spot in the world in higher education (cognitive skills and educational attainment) per capita—now, according to Pearson, we’ve fallen to a dismal #14. Knowing education is so crucial for so many other things—including our own health!—Better Make Room’s campaign objective is to encourage the pursuit and the journey of higher education in America. 

But even beyond that, the campaign serves to unite students who are facing similar challenges, bringing them together in a space where they can create, connect and make a commitment to their future. Fueled by user-generated content and the spirit of community, the Better Make Room movement elevates those who are continuing their education to the level of celebrity status, as if to say to the world, “you’d better make room, because this person is about to arrive.”

And in year one alone, students’ voices HAVE BEEN HEARD. In one year, we’ve worked with valuable partners around the nation to launch big events, new initiatives and inspiring PSAs. We’ve recruited celebrities to join the campaign. We’ve launched nationwide essay contests through Seventeen Magazine and MTV Founders. We launched Up Next, a texting initiative that provides resources for students. We’ve put on Texas-sized events in New York for National College Signing Day, invited students to the White House for Beating the Odds, AND we’ve seen thousands of students make commitments to their futures, plan for college, apply for their FAFSA (early!)—and lock their eyes on the future, where they have the potential to be whatever it is that they want to be.

We’ve loved working on this campaign. A chance to talk about education? To recruit the United States’ next generation of brilliant minds? To come alongside a nation of students just looking for someone to sit down and listen? That’s our mission and where our drive originates. There’s not much like it, and we cherish the late nights and early mornings—both fueled by copious amounts of coffee—that have contributed to the success of this campaign. 

Although getting to hangout with FLOTUS was a reward in itself, throughout the course of working on Better Make Room, we’ve been recognized for our work from multiple organizations, which always, always, always called for an early Champagne Friday.

2015 AAF Award (Public Service Online/Interactive Citation of Excellence + Public Service Announcement)

2016 IABC Bronze Quill (Best of Show + Best of Division 1 (Communication Management) + Nonprofit Campaign Award of Excellence + Marketing, Advertising and Brand Communication Award of Excellence)

Yes—these awards look pretty stellar in the Black Sheep office, but they pale in comparison to the impact that the First Lady’s Better Make Room campaign has made so far. At the end of the day, we’re trying to get students to graduate from college. THAT is the goal and our motivation— to fight hard for these students to reach higher than they thought possible.  

But until we get to stand by their sides on graduation day, we’ll do our best to connect students with what they need to get there. Since our launch exactly one year ago, we’ve made over 760 MILLION impressions on social media, and more than 25,000 students have made commitments to higher education on the Better Make Room website.

And no, we’re not done. This is only the beginning. As a team, we’ve spent more than 2,500 hours on this project, and we are prepped and ready to triple that. With that, we sat down as a team to talk about why we’re committed to this campaign—for 2017, and beyond.

Aimee: There’s no greater resource in finding your path to success than finding a mentor. The Better Make Room campaign is built to surround students (especially those fighting to beat the odds) with support—from their peers, especially. At times, nothing can be better than knowing you are not alone. We’ve fought hard this year and we’ll continue the fight to show these kids they’re not alone. They’ve got us—you, me—all of us, they’ve got each other and they’ve GOT THIS.  

Kelsey: This campaign is about the future—educating it, nurturing it, encouraging it. When you hear, “Saying things out loud makes them happen,” believe it, because words are powerful, and in putting their hopes and wishes out into the ether over the last year, we have seen thousands of student commitments shared far and wide across the United States, shouting, proclaiming, trumpeting, “You had better make room for me, world.” In year two of the Better Make Room campaign, I am committed to building upon the incredible foundation this last year has provided and finding a way to encourage and embolden all students who are striving toward higher education. 

Roslynn: Over the last year Better Make Room has shifted the conversation on higher education to build a community for students to declare their aspirations for their futures. I’m inspired by the students who’ve engaged with the campaign and taken that often shaky next step in forging their own path towards their futures—and the future of our world. It’s their stories, trials and passions that inspire me. I’m committed to continuing to make room for their impact on the world. To building a community and a platform to make their voices heard and dreams realized.

Adam: College is not only an opportunity to find a career, but an opportunity for young people to find their own voice in the world and truly live independent in body and mind. Sometimes starting the conversation or navigating the landscape of what’s next concerning secondary education is the hardest part. It’s a privilege to work on this campaign and give others an opportunity at continuing their education and finding their voice.

Jo: Financially speaking, college was a real challenge for me. I didn’t sleep. I worked two jobs. I did homework at 4 a.m. One year I even had to sell plasma. That’s really the only way I could make it happen, and it was hard. Not only do I believe in this campaign, I take it really personally. If I can do it, then any student can do it. It might be hard—most things worth doing are hard. But there are people like me who recognize that, and who think that they can do it anyway. We want the best for them—and we appreciate the fight to get there.

Brandi: Getting a higher education isn’t easily accessible and when you are young, the process of getting there can seem insurmountable. I want this campaign to be their support system and provide not only with the tools and information to achieve more—but give them a vision of what is possible. That they can do more. That they can find their place. 

Alex: This campaign embodies the potential of the world’s next generation of scientists, writers and teachers—it’s really inspiring to me to see how students are setting goals to reach those places AND following through with them! Big fan of goal-setting fo sho. I’m looking forward to hearing more student stories and aspirations and finding ways to share them in big ways with the world. I think it’s important that students’ voices aren’t lost among the craziness in the world today.

Brittany: I wouldn’t have made it to college without the very specific people placed in my life to tell me where to look or what to do. As a first generation college student, you’re shown first hand the many other alternatives you have to higher education—alternatives to get by, alternatives to what you could have or do and alternatives to the what ifs. You’re also reminded in college daily that you’re a first gen college student; the struggle doesn’t end at acceptance. Better Make Room is an answer I wish I had in high school; it embodies everything I needed in a resource and in a community. In all reality, it also reminds me of everything I’ve already forgotten to tell my youngest siblings who are and will be in high school soon. It’s tough, but I have never done anything more worth it in my life. I’m committed to building this bridge for every student, the ones looking for it and the ones who’ve been taught ways around it, until “first generation college student” is a seldom used term. 

Kara: When I think back on my college experience at Miami of Ohio University, I grew not only mentally but socially and emotionally as well. Though only four hours away from home, I had the privilege of being exposed to a collective of individuals that challenged me to create an experience all my own. Not only do I not take this for granted, but I believe that everyone should be given this opportunity. That is why I am thrilled to commit to another year in supporting the First Lady, Michelle Obama, in her mission around higher education for a generation that “could close the gap between the world as it is and the world as it should be.”

It seems like just yesterday the flock was wheels up and on our way to the White House.

One Year Down. #BetterMakeRoom For More.

It seems like just yesterday the flock was wheels up and on our way to the White House. We, an 11-person, Houston-based creative agency, joined Team USA to ignite change in the future of education in America, working side by side with Michelle Obama. It is just as surreal today as it was a year ago.

Condensed

He just released his third album, Coloring Book—featuring guest appearances from Kanye West, Justin Bieber, Lil Wayne and Kirk Franklin—and recently concluded his Magnificent Coloring Book Tour, where he registered attendees to vote. But any major label that’s tried to pursue the rap artist has failed miserably. Within his nearly four-year career, he’s had a top 10 album, snagged Kanye West as a mentor and created his own music festival—all without a physical release, a label association or charging for a single song.

Coloring Book is not only the first streaming-only album to chart on the Billboard 200, it premiered in the top 10. AND now that the Grammy Awards revisited their rules to make streaming-only albums and songs eligible for awards, Chance might… have a chance.

THIS GUY. It’s hard not to be inspired by this young rapper’s accolades, but in addition to that, he’s constantly innovating in the music space. His latest idea? Filming his latest music video completely on iPhone, with its orientation constantly shifting. In order to watch the entire thing without getting a headache, you have to lock your phone to prevent it from switching from portrait to landscape and back again.

He’s the Chicago MC who sees where he came from and wants to help others get to the same place. He’s a champion of his community and its people. He has a passion for creative minds and seeks to nurture that spark into something that takes over their hearts. When he was young, he started performing at open mics, the catalyst for his evolution into superstardom. Now, with other collaborators in the Chicago community, he hosts open mics, where students have the opportunity to share their art in a place that celebrates it. He’s got a plan to unite the world’s creatives to build something revolutionary. When asked what he envisions for music, his response was eloquent:

“We’re trying to bend genres, play with time and presentation. It makes people want to dive in. When people have that interaction, it’s healthier for the artist and the music. There will be a lot of kids who are gonna want to play the trumpet because of this project. Music was a first-person experience before the industry came along, and it will be again. We’ll be a success because we’re early in recognizing that. The revolution is coming. Where do you want to be when it happens?”

I want to create for the same reasons Chance creates. Because I want something to come of my words, my thoughts, my ideas—something that’s bigger than me. I want my own creativity to reach out and grab others—violently—so they have no other choice but to sink into their own thoughts, and realize the potential their own minds’ hold. Here’s one of my favorite quotes from Kanye’s protege, where Chance’s words embody the reason he creates regularly:

“There’s a hunger in me that always wants to be creating and orating, telling people something and giving them information and getting feedback. There are so many questions that I’m trying to ask, and I’m still so far from being done saying what I gotta say.”

How A Coloring Book Sparked My Creativity

If I’ve heard one name over and over this past year, it’s Chance the Rapper.