We'd love to hear from you!

Send us a video, podcast, or blog answering the question below.

If accepted you’ll be put in a raffle for prizes valued at $500+!

Submit your content

How to Participate

1. Send us your original content: submit a 30-60-second video, 3 - 5 minute podcast, or 400-800-word article in the form below answering this prompt:

 

What would you do if you had one day to make a positive impact with $965 million? How would you invest what the U.S. currently spends daily on just the INTEREST on the National Debt? 

 

2. Our team will review your pieces and get back to you within 10-15 business days. We'll either accept the piece with minor edits or ask you to make changes and resubmit.

 

3. Once published, we will promote your piece on Up to Us social media and in our newsletter. You’ll also be entered into a raffle for a $500 gift card (raffle held every 60 days).

Video Tips

Keep it simple. You don’t need fancy video equipment. Your video can be a simple selfie video taken on your phone.

Choose a relatively quiet place with good lighting. This will ensure we can see you and hear your amazing ideas!

Practice a little before recording. Practicing what you want to say in the video will help you be less nervous and explain yourself more clearly.

Respect the time limit. We will not accept video over 60 seconds, so keep the message tight!

Blog Tips

Use & link to credible sources. When you make a claim, make sure you back it up and share the link where you found the information.

Recruit an editor. This could be a professor or fellow student with at least baseline knowledge of the topic.

Spell & grammar check! The beauty is in the details. Please make sure you check for typos before submitting your article.

Explain, but be concise! We won’t accept articles with less than 400 or more than 800 words.

Podcast Tips

Choose your audio recording equipment. If you’re new to podcasting, you probably won’t own high quality audio equipment. Start out by trying to record on your computer or checking out your university’s audio resources, even your local library, to see if they have studios or recording equipment you can access. 

Record in a quiet place. Avoid any space where you can hear outside noise or where machines, like an AC, are running. Bonus Tip: You can use extra rugs or blankets to help muffle any reverb from floors or ceilings. 

Warm Up. Give yourself 30 minutes to warm up your voice and practice reading through your script before you hit the record button.

Interviewing. If you’re conducting an interview, record each person on a different separate audio channel. If you don’t have access to that software, make sure to mute each person when they aren’t talking so you can eliminate any extra noise. This will save you time in the post-production process. 

Keep your podcast short and sweet. Podcasts clock in at all different length. However, for Up to Us, we recommend keeping yours under 10 minutes to ensure the quality of your content and the clarity of your message!
 
 

Non-partisanship is a key value of the Up to Us movement. We reserve the right to deny content that takes sides. Remember, people over politics.

Community Contributors 

Check out what the Up to Us community has to say about this question!

Evan Malbrough: Homelessness, Democracy

Frederick Uy: Artificial Intelligence, E-Learning, Venture Capitalists

Joseph Paul Javier: Education, Healthcare

Masanue Vah: Education