Arnold School of Public Health

What You’ll Gain

• Supportive Cohort. Make New Friends, Build Your Network: You won't be doing this alone. Create lasting connections with peers and professors across public health and exercise science. Engage with alumni and health leaders. Receive coaching from a national lineup of communication and innovation leaders, including those from Harvard University and Babson College.
• Credential for Graduate School Application and LinkedIn Profile: Stand out in graduate school applications and job searches with an impressive credential that signals your potential for leadership, innovation, and changemaking in public health and healthcare.
• Valuable Skills Development and One-on-One Coaching Experience: The public speaking skills you gain provide concrete evidence of your capabilities in interviews and equip you with the competencies and confidence to succeed in graduate school and in your career. Benefit from individualized feedback and mentoring from faculty and alumni coaches.
• Presence, Influence, and Impact: Be known for these three words by working directly with nationally recognized coaches to craft and deliver a compelling 5-minute TED-style talk. Set yourself up for continued growth as a high-impact communicator and innovator.
• Earn Awards, Certificates, and Prizes: Awards and prizes will be awarded to the top pitches. A certificate of achievement will recognize mastery of the Changemaker Storytelling Training Program’s learning outcomes. Everyone will receive a free T-shirt. 

Who Can Join?

• Open To: All undergraduate students pursuing majors and minors in the Arnold School of Public Health.
• Prerequisites: None! No business plan, financial model, or prior pitch experience required. We ask that you bring your passion for improving and protecting health and well-being, a commitment to strengthening your public speaking and storytelling skills, and a desire to think innovatively and act entrepreneurially.
• Cohort Size: There are limited spots in the Changemaker Storytelling Training Program to ensure a high-impact workshop experience and personalized one-on-one coaching for every participant. Registration is open until December 18, 2026. Don’t miss out!

The Path to Pitch Day: Shape the Idea. Build the Pitch. Inspire the Change.

The Carolina Changemaker Challenge is a training program and competition designed to strengthen your public speaking and storytelling skills, foster innovative thinking, and cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset. The training program culminates with the opportunity to showcase your skills in a Health Impact Pitch Competition on February 24, 2027.

Learn from National Storytelling Experts

Our workshop leaders and mentors have coached entrepreneurs and changemakers who have appeared on Shark Tank, speakers who have delivered viral TEDx Talks, and leaders who have presented locally and globally to a wide range of important audiences. You will gain insider access to the exact storytelling techniques, stage methodologies, and narrative frameworks used by world-class communicators, innovators, and entrepreneurs.
Through the Changemaker Storytelling Training, you’ll learn how to translate public health and exercise science data and research to address health challenges into persuasive, human-centered stories. Whether you want to advocate for a health intervention or policy, propose a wellness initiative, address health misinformation, promote a big idea from research findings, advance health equity, or share a new health idea, this program gives you the skills, mentorship, and stage to inspire.

Changemaker Storytelling Training

Workshops

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  First Pitch: A Winning Delivery of Your Idea

  Friday, January 22, 2027 - 2:00 to 4:00 pm

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  Unlocking Innovation: Keys to Becoming a Changemaker

  Friday, February 5, 2027 - 2:00 to 3:30 pm

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  Moonshot Innovation: Driving Large-Scale Change

  Friday, February 12, 2027 - 2:00 to 3:30 pm

Coaching

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  Pitch Perfect Week: One-on-One Coaching

  Monday, February 15 - 19, 2027

Learning from Leaders

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  Entrepreneurial Mindset: Arnold School Alumni and Student Stories

  Wednesday, February 17, 2027 - 6:30 to 8:00 pm

The Main Event

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  Carolina Changemaker Challenge: Health Impact Competition

  Wednesday, February 24, 2027 - 6:30 to 8:00 pm

Expectations

You are required to attend the kickoff event and workshop on January 22, 2027, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. You are expected to attend at least one of the 90-minute workshops that follow (February 5th and February 12th at 2 pm).

You are strongly encouraged to participate in all three workshops, take advantage of the one-on-one coaching, and attend the learning from leaders event, which will inspire you and add value to your Changemaker journey.

Registration Required

Visit go.sc.edu/carolinachangemaker to register. Registration is open until December 18, 2026. Don’t miss out!