The Nevada Sagebrush

Tammy Johnston, a senior psychology major, posed a solution to poverty in a national competition and was awarded for her answer. Photo By Thomas Lavine/ Nevada Sagebrush

A University of Nevada, Reno student recently won a national scholarship competition with an idea for addressing poverty in America.

In January, the Web site ourvoiceourcountry.org chose Andrea Tammy Johnston, a senior psychology major, as the winner of their second competition for her idea to create “educational enterprise zones” to educate the poor.

The group plans to “bring authentic American decisions” to key leaders in Congress, who they believe will be in the best positions to move the propositions forward, said Jon Mann, founder and board president of Our Voice Our Country.

Johnston’s concept of “educational enterprise zones” consists of three different rings in society.

“The concept is to stop the cycle of poverty,” Johnston said. “If we eliminate poverty, we eliminate homelessness; we eliminate people willing to accept employment at a lower socioeconomic state.”
Users on the Web site enter short solutions in regards to topics posted on the site. Solutions are then voted on by users and a panel of judges. The panel of judges that chose Johnston included a social psychiatry professor from Columbia University, the dean of Iona College’s School of Arts and Science in New York, and a former House of Representatives member from New Hampshire.
Johnston’s entry was selected from 190 entries and earned her a $1,000 scholarship.

The victory came as a surprise to Johnston, who said she had “given up” by the time she received an e-mail telling her she had been selected as the winner. She hadn’t checked her e-mail for two weeks prior to seeing the message.

The innermost ring would contain facilities for educating all ages about topics including but not limited to parenting skills.

The second ring would be a housing area, and the outermost ring would be an enterprise zone. Illegal activity would result in expulsion from the program, she said.
Johnston’s interest in solving the issue of poverty, which she considers one of the most pressing issues in America today, comes from personal experiences while growing up in Cincinnati.
“I grew up somewhat impoverished,” she said. “You can either succumb to it or find a way out.”

13.2 percent of Americans, or 39.8 million people, lived in poverty in the United States in 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Ben Miller can be reached at bmiller@nevadasagebrush.com

Related Posts:

• Hardy to seek open position
• Recommendations make air races safer, better experience
• Column: Two Nevada boxers win national titles, go unnoticed
• Three left in pres. search
• The $100,000 Christmas