Final GIP Blog

Reflecting on my high school experience, I am extremely glad I joined the Global Scholars program. Whether it’s in class discussing current global issues and diplomacy, or it’s in Kazakhstan hiking atop a snowy mountain, there are countless memories I’ve made at Poly thanks to this program. 

The view from the Tien Shan Mountains, Kazakhstan

I took the Class “Facing Global Challenges” this year, just as all my fellow Scholars did, and I quickly fell in love. Unlike most history/social studies classes I’ve attended, this class went above and beyond in keeping track of current global affairs, trade, and conflicts. Conversations were structured enough so that we could cover what needed to, but loose enough that everyone got a turn to speak. The best thing about this class is how it encourages everyone to participate. From the first week of Fall, everyone is already planning their yearlong Capstone projects; because everyone shares this common goal, there is a sense of unity and support among your classmates. 

If I had to pick a favorite topic his year, I would have to say that I was always interested in the current conflicts going on in Palestine. We dove so deep into decades-old history and heard stories from all sides of the conflict. And because we would have a new thing to talk about every week (as the conflict continued to grow and change as we moved on throughout the year), there was no way a conversation or analysis could become repetitive; in fact, there was so much information to take in that there was no way we could cover everything.

My capstone project was completed along with the partnership of a fellow Global Scholar, Daniel Zheng. We called it “BrushPal”, and the idea was to create a cultural exchange between us and children in Uganda through the theme of art. Because you don’t need language to communicate your emotions through drawings, we thought it would be a great idea to send drawings and paintings to the children and receive their artwork back (like a pen pal situation). But when we ran into issues with shipments and price, we pivoted. We decided to create videos of us creating art (music videos and drawing tutorials), which we would post on a YouTube channel we shared with the caretakers of the children at La Lona and Mama Music (the two organizations we worked with). We were finally able to present the culmination of our project recently, which happened in the library and had interactive parts like a drumming tutorial and a drawing station, all of which would be sent to the children in Uganda (digitally).

Students try out traditional Ugandan drums at our capstone presentation

What I thought was the most impactful part of this whole process was the friends I made while meeting on ZOOM. People like Daniel Demento (co-founder of Worldwide Musicians United) and Adam Luwaganda (owner and founder of Mama Music)  became close to us as we worked closely with them throughout the year. Our business group chat has even become a place to talk about our lives and current situations. 

A child at La Lona shows off his art

As I reflect on what being a Global Scholar has allowed me to do, I can’t help but urge those who are questioning whether or not to join to at least give it a shot. Being a Scholar has taken me to countries I never would have imagined and introduced me to friends I never thought I’d have, and if I could, I would do it again 100 times.