Making the Move from Shouting to Listening to Public Action: A Student Perspective on Millennials and Dialogue

This essay provides an overview of what one senior student at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado, found while researching the power of conversation to foster civic engagement among her peers. The essay is divided into three sections. First, research on the Millennials is summarized to provide an overview of this generation’s characteristics. Second, the methodology and findings of the applied portions of the student’s senior thesis, referred to as Conversations for Change, are outlined. The third portion, the essay’s conclusion, calls for the increased presence of the student voice in our colleges and universities so as to empower the Millennials’ potential to participate in democracy.