At SXSW EDU, one of the leading conferences focused on innovation in education, Isabel Epistelomogi, a second year student at USC Marshall School of Business, presented her research project, “Civics By Students, For Students: Depolarizing via Discourse.” Along with Maryam Zoweil, a first-year student at the University of Texas at Austin, the pair highlighted how a student-led curriculum can reshape classroom engagement and discourse.

Over the last two years, Epistelomogi and fellow members of the Institute for Youth in Policy (YIP) have developed a 500+ page civics curriculum based on peer-reviewed research and in-classroom data collection. During the conference, the team shared insights on how their curriculum has been tested and implemented in real classroom settings.

“Civics education that is developed by students, for students that is nonpartisan, that is discourse-based, can depolarize students, can increase their civic engagement, can help them increase their topic comprehension,” Epistelomogi explained.

One of the field tests involved a 90-minute debate on a current issue. Students completed surveys before and after the debate allowing researchers to measure changes in civic engagement, depolarization, topic comprehension, and willingness to collaborate with peers to solve issues. According to Epistelomogi, the results showed notable increases across all categories.

Epistemologi’s passion for political discourse and civics education traces back to her childhood. Her parents immigrated from Indonesia and raised her in Wisconsin, instilling in her a gratitude for the democratic system.

“[My parents] had been working so hard for U.S. citizenship, and when they finally got it, they were so proud to take their children to vote,” Epistemologi said.

Epistelomogi looked for a school with an interdisciplinary approach that would support and enhance her personal research. That search led her to USC Marshall. The school’s Trojan Network has motivated and inspired Epistemologi’s journey to SXSW.

“I love how USC focused on the interdisciplinary parts of it, how cross-functional everything is, how they do want you to take away real world [lessons],” Epistelomogi said. “They want you to walk out of the classroom with actual experiences and backgrounds that I don't think any other school would have provided me.”

Epistelomogi also chose USC Marshall for its world-renowned faculty, who have supported her throughout her academic journey. Although she initially struggled with public speaking before attending USC, Epistelomogi found a mentor in Madge Gaynor, adjunct professor of clinical business communication. After enrolling in Gaynor’s course, BUAD 302: Communication Strategy in Business, the Marshall student discovered newfound confidence that aided her SXSW presentation.