NYLC Blog
How I Got Inspiration and Courage from a Nobel Laureate
There is nothing more inspirational than shaking hands with a Nobel Peace Prize winner; the experience shaped my life. It was in September 2006 and I embarked on my first trip away from my family for the international PeaceJam Conference in Denver. While in Denver, I had the opportunity to meet my role-model, Desmond Tutu. Meeting and listening to him changed my life from that point on. I was always a quiet and an extremely shy person. I was intimidated by speaking with others and I was frightened by the violence in my community. I always had a lot I wanted to say but little courage and heart to say it.
My experience with Tutu at the conference helped me find the strength to speak up. At the conference, we broke up into groups for service projects and it was in that group that Tutu helped me find my courage. He called me up to stage following our project and wanted me to talk about another project I was doing with MADDAD's here in Minneapolis, but I couldn't find the courage to speak up. When he realized I was scared, he turned to me and said, "If you have something to say, never be afraid to say it. People cannot benefit from your experience if you’re quiet. By being silent, you won't be able to share your advice, concerns, even the stories with the people who need to hear them."
Since that life changing day, I have continued to share my story and dreams of building a school to build peace through sports. In 2008, I had the opportunity to meet Adolfo Perez Ezequiel, a Nobel Laureate from Argentina. I told him about my dream and without hesitation, he told me, "Keep following your dream and if you need an architect, I would help design the school for you." Ezequiel was an architect in addition to his social justice work. I am still working towards my dream of building the school he designs for me.
This year, I'm excited to meet Dr. Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Laureate from Iran, at the 2012 National Service-Learning Conference and youthrive PeaceJam Leadership Conference in Minneapolis. Her story will serve as another building block of inspiration for me to become the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner. Dr. Ebadi's love for women, children, and peace was more important to her than a life of safety. She stood up for the injustice in her country and made a difference in the lives of many. I cannot imagine the turmoil she underwent and yet, she overcame it.
At a PeaceJam conference, you have an opportunity to experience a feeling of inspiration and value because you will have peers from all over the world in one location who are striving towards change for our world. From experience, I have learned that the one person (or more) you inspired will pass it along to the next person, who will in turn do the same. Pretty soon you have a billion acts of peace taking place right in front of your eyes, the challenge set forth by PeaceJam Laureates. I challenge you to get inspired and pass your inspiration along. Most importantly, do not be afraid to speak up for what you believe.
About the author: Montrell Donaldson is a youthrive Scholar and has been with youthrive for six years. He is very passionate about peace and youth work, specifically in the Minneapolis community. Montrell's dream is to become the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Countdown to the Conference #2 from R2 YAC
Cole Harper is in the 12th grade at Richland School District Two in Columbia, SC, and co-chair of the Richland School District Two Youth Action Council. With this Countdown to the Conference series, they share their process of preparing workshop sessions for the National Service-Learning Conference® and youthrive PeaceJam Leadership Conference on April 11-14, 2012 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
My last blogspot referred to our Youth Action Council’s saying, “Work hard, party hard and sleep harder.” The closer we get to conference time, our thought process transforms into “work hard, play when it’s appropriate, and hardly sleep.”
Planning for our sessions at the national conference takes a lot of troubleshooting, problem solving and decision making. Working from our session descriptions and objectives, how do we make our activities fit in our time that we have? And in what order? And who is doing what? And who else is preparing for what else when whoever is doing whatever he or she is doing? Where are my materials? Has anyone seen the scissors? Why? How? Anyone want to take a lunch break and go to Bojangles? What should I have done by the next time we meet? Where’s that timeline we made a few weeks ago? The list goes on and on. Often we run into problems that would make ordinary people cringe, but nothing dampens our spirit or commitment to making service learning fun.
Another of our sayings, we adopted from Joan Liptrot, our BFF and Grand PooBah Director of the Institute for Global Education and Service Learning. Whenever something goes wrong, as it often will, our attitude is, “we’ll make it work.” And, for those who have been or plan on coming to one (or preferably several) of our sessions, you know that we DO make it work (very well if I do say so myself). Good conference session outcomes are the end result of hard work, flexibility, lots of patience and a big sense of team commitment. In short, our planning starts way before we pack up to meet our flights for the conference city!
For those of you who can come in to Minneapolis early, join us Wednesday afternoon from 1:00 to 4:00 for our Pre-conference session, Give Youth a Voice: How to Create Real Life Leadership Opportunities. Below is also listing of the Rookie Series Sessions and the student teams that will co-facilitate each. For more information on descriptions, location and times, check out the conference guide.
The Rookie Series – Minneapolis 2012
Making It Meaningful!
Joan Liptrot, Institute for Global Education & Service Learning, Levittown, PA
Brianna Kinney* & Marissa Moran*, IGESL Youth Action Council, Levittown, PA
Understanding and Promoting Youth Voice
Joan Liptrot, Institute for Global Education & Service Learning, Levittown, PA
|Jordanne Harpster* and Kyle Harper*, Richland School District 2, Columbia SC
Reflection for the Rookie
Shira Woolf Cohen, Vice Principal, New Foundations Charter School, Philadelphia, PA & Youth* from NFCS
Standards + Service = Curriculum Integration
Beverly Hiott, Lead Teacher for Service learning & Civic Engagement, Richland School District 2, Columbia, SC
Cole Harper* and Karli Wells*, Richland School District 2, Columbia, SC
Reciprocal Partnerships: Why Should I Work With You?
Tiffany Searles, Out of School Time and Service Learning Coordinator, New Foundations Charter School, Philadelphia & Youth* from NFCS
Progress Monitoring for the Rookie
Christine Moran Ph.D, Immaculata University, Immaculata, PA
Cole Harper* and Kyle Harper*, Richland School District 2, Columbia, SC
Why the World Forum is a Vital Aspect of the National Service-Learning Conference
Service-learning, when done well, has tremendous capacity to strengthen the understanding and common bonds between diverse peoples. This is true within our schools, among peers, as well as when that service-learning effort takes on a global issue. In Minnesota we have seen an explosion of language immersion programs, including full-immersion schools in German, French, Spanish and Mandarin. Their success is a testament to the public’s understanding that our children live in an ever more connected world, and having the capacity to communicate in multiple languages provides great opportunities. Learning another language allows for a greater understanding and expanded ability to engage with the planet’s cultural diversity. As we expand our capacity to communicate, we also need to build our capacity to work together in right relationships. Working together does not ensure just or effective relationships; there are numerous instances where global outreach have resulted in some very concerning outcomes. This is one reason why effective service-learning efforts has such a vital role to play in today’s schools.
There is a 19th century French phrase from Sabastien Roch Nicolas Chamfort that translates something similar to, “Be my brother or I will bash your head in.” This view of international engagement is extreme yet, to my thinking, all too common. I wish to be your brother, serve you, fix you, share with you; but if I think you refuse my “kindness,” well then you leave me no choice... My hope for service-learning in an international context is that it allows for meaningful contact, understanding, engagement in shared ownership of issues, and their solutions. Shared ownership greatly benefits from the act of meeting face-to-face, getting to know one another, and coming to terms with how we are linked and have shared interests.
The upcoming World Forum at the National Service Learning Conference is an opportunity to convene people with shared interests in youth leadership, quality learning, international service, and international relationships – in fact, many who will be attending make this their lifework.
It is exciting to know that this year we have travelers coming from Qatar, Brazil, Taiwan, Singapore, Nigeria, India, Liberia, among other nations. These travelers are excited to meet, learn, and share their ideas. After finding out she was coming to the conference, one youth traveling from Brazil said, “This will be a really unique opportunity. There will be so many interesting people with good ideas for this world... I`m so happy!” Another youth from Qatar celebrated by saying, “Yaaaaaaay! Can't wait.... it's going to be the best trip ever.” They are joining us to celebrate, to network, to learn, and to organize in a manner that will allow their passion to make a positive difference in the world. Their work as global leaders will be informed by those they meet, those who can share and liberally take new ideas from one another. I am very hopeful that these world travelers will discover a large number of us joining them at the World Forum. I hope that they discover in Minnesota a group of people that see the opportunity that his conference provides them, a chance to build new international bridges. I hope on April 11th I will see you there.
Remembering Van Meuller
I was saddened to learn of the recent death of Van Mueller. As a member of NYLC's Board of Directors for many years, Van was a strong ally and hands-on supporter of NYLC and service-learning. He offered solid counsel on financial management issues and opened doors in 2000 for NYLC to aquire the current office location at the TIES Building at the corner of Snelling and Larpenteur. Van knew education and cared deeply for young people.
We extend our condolences now to his family.
The University of Minnesota has posted a memorial page with more information on Van Meuller's extensive work in education.
New Foundations Charter School Preps Three Conference Projects
The students and staff from New Foundations Charter School in Philadelphia are working hard to prepare for this year’s National Service-Learning Conference & youthrive Peacejam Leadership Conference. It’s the 11th year we have attended, and we have some great projects planned for this year. Check out some updates below from our 3 project teams:
#1) Our team, “Message in a Bottle,” has been preparing for the Conference since mid-February to teach others about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch! As we are preparing for the conference we are researching facts and information about the patch. We are working together to make sure we are prepared to provide information on our topic and educate others. We have been learning ways to help with clean-up efforts and how to prevent something like this happening in the future. We area also working with our partners at the Multicultural Youth Exchange to design a website that will help spread this message to a much larger group of people. Hopefully, we will be able to accomplish our goal of educating others about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch!
#2) The video team has been hard at work preparing for the conference! We have learned how to write a script and make storyboards. We have practiced running camera, using tripods and learned the proper terms for camera shots and camera movement. We also covered interview techniques such as open-ended questions and how to keep an interview going. Right now we’re making our own original movies – a Zombie Horror Movie and Family Drama that explores the impact of divorce on children. And we spent last class learning how to fight for stage and film… just cause it was fun. This class we will research the conference itself. We are having a great time and are very excited for the conference!
#3) Our Gardening Group has been working extremely hard preparing to get ready for the conference in April. So far, we have started small with just the basics by bringing awareness about our local community gardens and have even read a short story, Seedfolks. We took a field trip to Norris Square Garden in North Philly, and gained a lot of insight into what needs to be done in order to grow a community garden and make sure it stays successful. During this project we have began growing our own garden, with different plants, vegetables, and herbs. Such as, lettuce, potatoes, onions, lavender, garlic and more. By the end of this process we hope to learn about local producers and the benefit of buying produce from our local area. We look forward to meeting up with many more people at the conference and being able to explain in depth what we have learned and how it can benefit all of you!
We can’t wait to see all of you in Minneapolis! Look out for us in our snazzy down vests!
Countdown to the Conference #1 from R2 YAC
Cole Harper is in the 12th grade at Richland School District Two in Columbia, SC, and co-chair of the Richland School District Two Youth Action Council. With this Countdown to the Conference series, they share their process of preparing workshop sessions for the National Service-Learning Conference® and youthrive PeaceJam Leadership Conference on April 11-14, 2012 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The National Service-Learning Conference has been a tradition for Richland School District Two Youth Action Council (R2 YAC) for over 15 years now. We've had some big shoes to fill, spending long hours and lots of effort learning the facilitation and training ropes from the YAC leaders who came before us. Year after year, another amazing student training team steps up to the plate. Working with our NYLC partners, our fearless leader Joan Liptrot from the Institute for Global Education & Service Learning (IGESL) and our advisor Beverly Hiott, as well as other student teams (from Philly “yo”), we take charge of planning the Rookie Series sessions. The Rookie Series is for those new to service learning and those who want to brush up on and get some good ideas about certain topics such as learning connections, reflection, youth voice, partnerships and other standards of quality service-learning practice.
We get to negotiate (ok, fight over) which sessions which students want to take on. Each session the R2 YAC facilitates is… well, let’s just say that our workshops leave people speechless. Besides leaving with some good “stuff,” our participants walk away wondering how we shared so much applicable information and experience in such a short amount of time, how mind-blowingly awesome our activities and games were, how easily and effectively we engaged them, and lastly, how long they will have to wait to join us again for another session.
Me (Cole Harper) asleep in the car on the way back from a past conference.
Our council has many sayings about how we operate together. One is, “Work hard, party hard, and sleep harder.” We’ve already begun getting agendas, materials, and student facilitators prepared for our sessions at the 2012 conference in Minnesota. As a nationally recognized council, others repeatedly see how well we work, but few get to see what it takes to get it all together or how spontaneously “work” can turn into “play.” We do what we love because we love to do it, and if loving to do it means it’s not work but play, then we’ll keep playing hard. It’s incredible how often our prep meetings turn into super brief dance parties (because dancing is another thing our council loves to do). The Cupid Shuffle has erupted on countless occasions when we get together (even our adult liaisons hop in on the fun). Dancing is also our way of “chillaxing” after our training sessions. As for the “sleep harder” part of our saying, many pictures, which are fortunately hidden away on phones and on facebook, reveal how deep sleep is always the end result after our sessions. I have found myself at the mercy of others’ pranks and pictures a couple times, having fallen asleep in awkward positions in the car and even (don’t laugh…. okay, go ahead) on the floor!
Check back for my next Countdown to Conference time coming soon!
Advancing the Service-Learning Field in a World Without Learn and Serve America
I recently wrote about how the President’s fiscal year 2013 (FY13) budget request failed to include even a compromise position on funding for Learn and Serve America (LSA). As we’ve seen over the past year, the loss of a highly leveraged funding stream for service-learning has been harmful to the web of connections across and within states as well as schools’ abilities to improve, highlight, and sustain outcomes for students and educators. While this is a significant setback for the field, in many ways, we have been unshackled from a relatively small federal investment within the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). We all know that the bulk of service-learning across the country, and the world, is not funded by this single federal program which has never received over $42 million.
In other words, we can choose to see this challenge as an opportunity.
In fact, I believe we have never had a better chance to reshape how we think about outcomes for youth and how we see the imperative of engaging citizens of ALL ages as part of the solution to our nation’s toughest challenges—not only as problems to be solved. After more than 20 years of increasingly effective service-learning practice, research, and evaluation, we are poised to capitalize on this strategy that engages between 4 and 5 million students nationwide.[1] Yet, we are in a new economic and political environment and we must be willing to think and act differently if we truly want to reform education, close the achievement gap, and engage all citizens in our democracy.
NYLC is determined and eager to embrace a new way forward. As we strive to continue to be a resource for the field and an advocate for the outcomes that can be achieved through service-learning, I ask for your help in this endeavor:
- We need your stories of achievement through service-learning, especially testimonials from students, as well as from parents and administrators who can raise their voices on behalf of their children.
- We need organizations and individuals across the country to help lead and participate in these conversations at the state and national level. We are incredibly fortunate to have so many in the field willing to share their good thinking, and we continue to reach out in collaboration to convene small groups, leading up to a larger conversation at the National Service-Learning Conference. The goal is to develop consensus around a set of ideas that can help propel youth and solutions forward by using service-learning as a key strategy, and to help build and support the movement necessary to achieve it.
- Contact your elected officials. NYLC has secured a modest set of resources to bring new focus to our government relations efforts. Working in partnership with a Washington DC-based firm, we are working to develop new bipartisan champions and raise awareness of the positive impacts that service-learning achieves for and with youth, in education, and in communities. We believe this investment also brings value to the entire field as we engage a broad spectrum of partners to help develop the strategy and engage new stakeholders and advocates in this work. As this work reaches pivotal points, we will be calling on the field for input and to mobilize and contact elected officials.
- Contribute your ideas. Current federal investments as well as the President’s FY13 budget include support for numerous programs across the federal government that include service-learning as a strategy or could be leveraged as such, from the Department of Education, Labor, Interior, and others. We are working to develop an effective strategy within the current political climate and I would love to hear your ideas for how to engage other federal agencies and expand the resources and visibility afforded to service-learning.
- Join us at the National Service-Learning Conference for a fireside chat hosted by CNCS. Current grantees are able to use LSA funds for educators, administrators, and students to attend the National Service-Learning Conference to hear the information presented by CNCS, ask questions, and participate in important sharing and close-out activities. Please register today to attend the Conference.
It is more necessary than ever that we come together, demonstrate the resiliency and creativity that we aim to build in young people with strong participation at the Conference, and collaboratively determine a new path forward.
I am eager for your thoughts and input. Please feel free to contact me directly.
[1] Corporation for National and Community Service, Office of Research and Policy Development, Community Service and Service-Learning in America’s Schools, 2008
Administration’s Budget Request Steps Back from Promise to Engage All Americans in Service
On February 13, President Obama released his fiscal year 2013 (FY13) budget. Given the challenging economic times we continue to face as a nation, it is not surprising that difficult decisions had to be made in prioritizing some programs over others. However, overall the budget continues a slow retreat from engaging students and youth as leaders and active contributors through their own education. In the Administration’s budget request there are some promising opportunities for service-learning, but under the Corporation for National and Community Service, the President has not requested any funds for Learn and Serve America—the first time that has ever happened since the founding of the program in the early 1990’s.
We already knew that, without any appropriated funding for Learn and Serve America in FY11 or FY12, we would have a difficult hurdle for FY13, despite the fact that last year the Obama administration had requested $39.5 million for the program. Last fall, leaders in the service-learning field had crafted a compromise position that put forward a modest request of $10 million for FY13 within the authorization for Learn and Serve America, to continue support for much needed research and programs with a focus on improved education in STEM-related subjects through service-learning. This request was included within that of the broader Voices for National Service coalition to the White House Office of Management and Budget.
It is a victory for national service and the Corporation that, despite being slated for elimination twice in Congress over the past year, the agency overall has been held harmless in the President’s budget. Under the President’s request, outstanding programs like AmeriCorps and Senior Corps would continue to positively impact the lives of their participants and the communities they serve. Yet it is deeply disappointing that not only was the compromise position for Learn and Serve America not accepted, but the FY13 budget also proposes to eliminate all funding for the Volunteer Generation Fund, Non-profit Capacity Building Fund, and to significantly decrease funding for State Service Commissions and training and technical assistance. David Mallery, Executive Director of the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Services, states, "While federal funding for national service as a whole has remained relatively intact, the strategic 'deep wounds' to service-learning and state commissions (inarguably serving as the feeder mechanisms and fertile birthing grounds for innovative new solutions to community issues) are cuts that will decisively cripple service in our country. Young Americans and community-based programs are vital components that we cannot afford to sacrifice."
The promise of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support less than three years ago and was signed into law during the first 100 days of President Obama’s Administration, is slowly being dismantled. When the last of the forward funded grants from Learn and Serve America are completed this year, there will be no programs at the Corporation that directly engage young people under age 17 as participants in national service.
ServiceNation tells us in a recent message that the President’s budget continues to fall short of the demand of prospective national service participants, with nearly 1 million un-placed applicants who want to serve in AmeriCorps programs. That is true, and a travesty. What isn’t included in that narrative is that there are currently still 900,000 K-12 and higher education student participants in national service whose opportunity to contribute will come to an end this summer—nearly 1 million youth who could be making gains in academic and civic outcomes while improving their schools and communities through Learn and Serve America. We believe these kids are worth fighting for too.
Youth-Led Philanthropy and a 46-Hour Dance-a-THON
I danced for 35 out of the 46 hours and while there was nothing but pain in my feet, I felt nothing but pride in my heart! Blasting music, bright lights, and thousands of cheering, enthusiastic college students greeted me as I entered the Bryce Jordan Center at Penn State University for THON 2012. THON is the largest student-run philanthropy in the country and is a 46-hour dance marathon raising money for pediatric cancer and The Four Diamonds Foundation. This year, Penn State University students, faculty, alumni and friends raised $10,686,924.83.
The mission of The Four Diamonds Fund is “to conquer childhood cancer by assisting children treated at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital and their families through superior care, comprehensive support, and innovative research.” Four Diamonds staff members were in attendance at the event as well as many of the Four Diamonds families. Children were a strong presence at THON and were definitely the stars of the weekend!
I was introduced to THON in 2010 while serving as International President for Circle K International, the world’s largest student-led community service organization for college students. Even though I’ve never been a Penn State student, I was still welcomed with open arms to participate in the event. I’ve now attended two THON weekends and can honestly say that they have been the two most inspiring weekends of my life. Standing alongside more than 15,000 college students and sharing a weekend full of dancing, laughter, crying, and emotions is something that I will never forget. It’s so powerful to see an entire campus come together to raise awareness and funds for a cause. Student leaders like this give me hope for a strong future!
View the THON recap video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtHboPJomZU
Photos provided by the THON committee.
Photos from Project Ignition's Day with the DOT
A photo essay on Project Ignition participants who spent a day shadowing employees at the U.S. Department of Transportation.
As Mike VanKeulen reflected in this earlier post, NYLC organized a day of job shadowing with the U.S. Department of Transportation for some participants in the Project Ignition program. Twenty-two youth and advisors traveled from 10 different schools, getting an insider’s look at the hard work DOT employees do and how it relates to their own teen driver safety initiatives. Here is a photo essay with highlights from the trip.
Sunday, January 8, Project Ignition students and mentors arrived at the hotel to get to know each other and plan for Monday.
After spending time sharing what was happening at their school, the group took a bus trip around Washington, D.C. to see the monuments at night.
A highlight of the monuments was the new Martin Luther King Jr. memorial. It gave time to be reflective about service and the impact you want to make on your community.
The next morning, while the youth were shadowing at DOT, the mentors were shared ideas and best practices that they were using in their teen driver safety projects.
On Monday, in between shadowing the DOT and the Project Ignition reception, students, mentors, and NYLC staff took a tour of the capitol building.
Joy Downey of U.S. Representative Stiver’s office was very excited to connect with Hope Miller of London H.S. in London, Ohio and her mentor Dana Snyder.
Our ten youth representatives from ten of our 22 Project Ignition National Leader Schools
L-R: Marc Martinez (Springlake Earth, TX), Stephanie Howard (Shelton, WA), Jason Weinzierl, (Belton, MO), Hope Miller (London, OH), Katie Neill (Oneida, IL), U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, Nicole St. Onge (Hoosick Falls, NY), Luke Rogers (Minonk, IL), Amanda Logan (Plymouth Meeting, PA), Navea Frazier (Bethlehem, PA), Chassy Barrett (Idabel, OK).
