Communal involvement promotes solidarity, and Kosi Dunn is one example of a student who hopes to create campus unity as an executive member of student organization, Do Better.
Dunn handles a slew of activities around campus, but among all of his engagements, a service organization known as Do Better, is his newest addition. The organization launched this summer with a focus on outreach, community service, mentorship and self-improvement.
As a sophomore individual studies major, Dunn is the vice president of Do Better.
“My job entails delegating between people. I make sure everyone has what they need to do what they need.”
Do Better recently hosted a basketball event, PGPD Crossover, in which students and police officers came together to foster teamwork and positivity in a game of basketball.
Dunn described Do Better as a club that focuses on, “Self-improvement through selfless action.”
He aspires for everyone to experience personal growth by helping others, and Do Better is one platform to encourage others to do so.
“I just want community service to be cool again,” Dunn said.
Aside from leading Do Better, Dunn is a well-known poet around campus and the D.C. metropolitan area. He served as a member of the D.C. Youth Slam team for four years where he participated in Brave New Voices as a competing member for two years, a youth coach last year, and a volunteer intern this year.
Dunn said he gained confidence when he participated in Brave New Voices.
“Performance poetry allowed me to be comfortable in my own voice. It allowed me to feel like I can actually impact change in my community,” Dunn said.
Continually inspired by poetry, Dunn decided to create his own poetry club called the UMD Slam Team. The group will eventually perform at the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational next year where they will compete against other schools.
Dunn is a member of a writing group known as We See Lions where members make scorned societal topics salient through their writing.
“We get writers and intellectual thinkers to write down some subversive ideas and look at things through a different lens,” Dunn said. “Where other people see weeds, we see lions.”
Poetry is a constant presence in Dunn’s life, even in romance. With his commendable talent, he is frequently approached by girls who compliment his work. While the admiration is flattering, he wants to be with a girl who is comfortable around him and not intimidated by his notoriety.
Although Dunn covers different topics in his poetry, each one stems back to love.
“I like to think all my poems are love poems. I think I write so I can find love in situations,” Dunn said. “I like to think of my poems as me flirting with the world around me.”
Instead of simply picking a major that vaguely aligns with his interests, Dunn is constructing his own major in the Individual Studies Program (IVSP). He aspires to be an animator, so he decided to merge different majors to ultimately create a major called Transmedia Storytelling.
“It’s examining principles of computer science, journalism, creative writing, and film. Ideally, I want to become an animator. So I’m trying to figure out different platforms to create consistent narratives over sound and visuals and writing,” Dunn said.
With Dunn’s busy schedule, self-expression never takes a back seat. He values art and looks to bring artists together to hone their talents.
“I want to inspire a movement of people who take back power, take back the prevailing notions we have in our society through art, through communication, through poetry.”