Passing the Torch: Youth Leadership with Community Impact featuring Aseel and Hadiza

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Show Notes
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Being raised by immigrant parents, Aseel Mansour and Hadiza Sarr understand the importance of hard work and academic enrichment. While both Aseel and Hadiza are grateful for the opportunities in America, they are also aware of the many things that need to be done to ensure equitable education for all students. In today’s episode, Aseel and Hadiza discuss the importance of youth leadership within their communities.

As board members for the non-profit organization Family Connection Communities in Schools, Aseel and Hadiza were asked to answer a challenging question: what needs to change in schools? Rather than replying with their own thoughts, Aseel and Hadiza decided to get answers from students themselves. After surveying over 120 students in local elementary, middle and high schools, the girls realized the students' complaints were similar to theirs. According to Aseel and Hadiza, it is important for students to have a say in what happens at school as it encourages self-advocacy and directly impacts their future successes. When adults provide a safe space for children to express themselves, it allows for students of all kinds to flourish.

Tune into this week’s episode of Southern Soul Livestream for a conversation about the importance of youth leadership. Learn more about how students, teachers and administrators can work together to instill change that effectively brings academic enrichment and progress to schools across the nation.

Quotes

• "When we went to interview the middle schoolers about what they would have wanted to change in elementary school, a lot of them were saying smaller class sizes, more field trips, and academic competitions.” (06:43-06:55 | Aseel)

• “The sad thing about our district is that change comes with a lot of push, and it's not just us talking. It has to be us and all the people that come after us.” (07:42-07:55 | Hadiza)

• “I have seen what it is like on the other side of the world and I've seen the lack of opportunities. So I need to take advantage of what I have here and what I have now.” (10:51-11:01 Hadiza)

• “The more I learned, the more I learned to be outspoken about the things that I really care about.” (17:26-17:31 | Hadiza)

• “I think teachers and the people that we meet that are older than us are so quick to put us in boxes.” (29:22-29:29 | Hadiza)

• “The best adults that I've seen are the people that celebrate me, uplift me, connect me to others and allow me to flourish.” (30:47-30:59 | Hadiza)

Links

Family Connection Communities in Schools http://fc-cis.org/mission-and-vision/

About Southern Soul Thursdays - @SoulThursdays

Witty, thought-provoking, and uplifting, Southern Soul Livestream - Podshow is the program that you’ll invite friends over to watch every week, where you’ll learn about fascinating speakers and get to share in exciting experiences. Tune in each Thursday at 8 pm eastern at SoulThursdays.com to connect with guests from across the generations and to laugh with our "cast of characters," hosts who are as charming as they are talented!