Life of a Fellow: Arya
Arya comes to 12+ by way of the University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in Economics. She hopes to one day bring her passion for educational equity back to her community in Trinidad and Tobago. In the meantime, we count ourselves lucky to have her as a Fellow at Belmont Charter High School!
“Ms. Arya, will you be at my graduation?”
A question that I received three days ago. It caught me off guard and had me feeling quite emotional as several thoughts ran through my mind: Will they get the opportunity to have an in-person graduation? Will we get the opportunity to meet each other in person? Will the first time we meet be at their graduation? Or will we make it back into school before then? Though we are only halfway through the academic year, that question from my student has me thinking of the celebration and recognition that our students deserve. This year, they deserve to be especially commended for completing what will be over a year of virtual schooling. I’m not so sure I would have been as diligent and understanding as some of our students when I was in high school.
As a working adult, I struggle daily to keep the momentum as I hop from one Zoom call to another. But it’s questions like the one above and conversations like the ones below that wake me up and remind me daily that I am beyond blessed to have this opportunity and to be in the presence of such incredible students. Because as much as I hope I am inspiring them, they are certainly inspiring me on a daily basis.
Here are two of my favorite conversation starters so far and some of the responses from our students:
What is one thing that you’d like to do or learn about that you haven’t as yet?
I don’t know about you, but I’m inspired by each and every one of these responses. Did the orange peel response intrigue you as much as it did my site team? This was one of my favorite questions to ask because it allowed students to share a more personal side to themselves which may sometimes get overlooked when we focus on our post-secondary planning.
2. What do you want to do after high school?
A typical Zoom call with Belmont team Frank, Arya, and Sam!
Again, I was astounded by the specificity and honesty of these responses. When I was asked this in high school, my response was also “unsure,” or “not sure but maybe something science or math related.”
I don’t think any of us would have imagined that our Fellows year would be spent talking to black boxes from our living room couches. And I certainly didn’t expect to grow so attached to the people behind those boxes. It has been an incredible journey and rewarding challenge to discover how much you can get to know a person that you’ve never seen before. To discover the impact that you can have on each other, without ever hearing the other’s voice, but by simply texting each other.
To these students and to all students, whether you are aspiring to become a nurse, entrepreneur, author or have no clue what you want to do as yet, I want to say this: Don’t let anyone dim your fire and desire to achieve your dreams. Don’t be scared of your dreams changing either, that’s entirely natural. We’re human. We’re constantly evolving and discovering ourselves.
I thought I wanted to be a doctor when I was in middle school. I then went to college to study engineering. Discovered I didn’t like that either. Got my degree in economics and here I am today, working in education equity alongside some of the most inspiring colleagues and students I have ever met.
I’ll leave you with a quote that my mom shared with me before I sat for my first major exam and that continues to inspire me daily: “It’s good to dream. But if you want to build castles in the sky, you have to start working on the foundation now.”
Thank you for allowing me to help you build a small part of that foundation in the last 6 months. And thank you for wanting me to be there to celebrate four years of that foundation, because YES, I will absolutely be at your graduation whether it’s in person or virtual and I cannot wait to celebrate you all.
Keep dreaming, keep fighting and never forget that 12+ will always be here to help you continue building those castles in the sky.