Palms sweaty, heart racing, as I step towards center stage. I had recited my facts repeatedly, minutes before our presentation. I was ready to be questioned by audience members and my peers about the actions we have been taking for our project. My group and I had been studying immigration for over two weeks now and my brain could not hold any further information. All the eyes of parents and peer stared back at me expectantly. My body swayed from the nerves. I began to recite my practiced information and the actions my group and I had taken leading up to this exact moment.
As the Think Globally, Problem Solve Locally and Act Neighborly project was introduced, I was anxious to begin. We had been tasked many projects in the Academy of Global Studies (AGS) over the year but this one seemed the most challenging. Teachers explained that each allocated group would be assigned a global topic. My group of five members were given the subject immigration. After hours of research and many notes, I was an expert on immigration. Later in the week we were informed the “take action” portion of our assignment. The teachers explained to us that our take action component had to impact the community we live in. Ideas swirled through my mind. How could a group of high school students make an impact for immigration in the community of Austin Texas?
Days passed, still no ideas for our impact in the community. Although Austin Texas has many immigrants how would we show support and praise for them? The idea only occured to me as I walked the streets of downtown. Mural after mural after mural. People stood in line to take pictures by these massive works of art. “That is it” I thought. Why not spread the love and comfort of immigrants through a mural in the community?
I introduced the idea to my group and they were thrilled. We created over 5 different designs. Each one consisted of the country’s flag with the leading immigration population in Austin. As we finalized our image we decided to incorporate the state of Texas to show communal support, the monarch butterfly (the symbol of immigration) as well as the flags from the countries most immigrants come from in the Austin area. To further add to our knowledge of immigration we visited an immigrant rehabilitation center. This let us dive into the world of first hand immigrants. We learned many hardships and challenges Texan immigrants had to face. For example Pablo, an ex-citizen from Honduras, explained the deprivation he experienced after leaving his family for a new, more successful life in the United states. He also explained the struggle to find a well paying job to support himself as well as send his hard earned money back to his poor family in Honduras. I was shocked after hearing his story. The thought of abandoning my family to eventually support them was heartbreaking. The strength he had and drive to provide was inspiring. The visit to the immigrant rehabilitation center opened my eyes to the many unfair situations people must face in this word to survive.
The next two weeks were crucial. We began painting our idea to show support for immigrants in our community. As the mural came together we were additionally tasked with an overall presentation. After hearing that our presentation was a part of our grade I was overwhelmed with nerves. I had never been good at standing in front of an audience. My face ultimately turns bright red and my hands typically shake from fear. Although we had presented information for alternative AGS projects prior to this one I worried me more than ever. With all of the information about immigration locked away in my brain how would I transfer it to words in front of an audience of many important people?
It was five minutes before our showcase. Parents, teachers and peers poured in. As I tried rapping my head around the information I was soon to present my knees quivered. Three deep breaths and an inspirational speech from my group later, our exhibition began. As my portion of the presentation creeped closer and closer I froze. I could not breath. I looked helplessly at each of my group members. With promising glances from each of them I began my spiel. When the presentation terminated I could miraculously breathe again. Our hardwork and effort had payed off for each group member got an A overall for the Think Globally Plan Locally and Act Neighborly project.
Throughout my years in The Academy of Global Studies I have learned through our intense projects the different ideals and problems happening in the world as well as how to work as a team to fulfill goals. I have also learned to publicly speak in front of many audiences as well as interview others for useful intel. Lastly AGS has taught me to respect others opinions and open my mind to new experiences.