Christina and Tiffany are happy, don’t be fooled. The above photo was from one of our debate workshops! Yes, these two ladies were representing their teams in a highly charged debate. The topic: Should school uniforms be mandatory for everyone throughout our world?

The funny photo was the result of having a Gem Project representative ask the two young ladies to give their ‘funny‘ face. As you can see, Tiffany (right) was spot on! Christina (left) was trying her best to keep a straight face.

Christina was representing team: Opportunity, while Tiffany represented team: Free.  This was just a typical day at our programs.  After that session, I was left reflecting on a conversation I had with our newest member, Reema.

I usually ask the same question. Do you feel we are making an impact? It’s not that I doubt that we’re or that we’re not documenting the youth’s progress appropriately, it goes deeper than that. We like to look at our work holistically. As a leader, I change shoes. I view things as the receivers (the audience we’re serving), the givers (the do-gooders/volunteers), and then the educators (how are we tracking results/ how are we marking progress ?).

It’s always important to humble yourself. There isn’t a point in life, I believe that one has truly arrived. A few years ago, I had my moments. There has been a few times where I looked at my team and said, “Wow, let’s take this in because this is  it.” As I get older, I have learned to know better.  As much as we are educators within our communities, we will transition to be students again. It’s a role that is constantly in motion.

We live for this.