Students who attend grades 6-12 within US school system are eligible . Registration is closed for Year 2020.
Global Challenge Ambassador – Sahasra Nandela
Throughout my time of being a part of the EmpowerandHelp Ambassador Program, I have learned many things such as the importance of teamwork, dedication, and skills like time-management. I have truly enjoyed being part of projects like the Online Mentorship Program and Social Media Challenge. Through the Online Mentorship Program I had an opportunity to work with children from immigrant families who came to the United States as part of the refugee resettlement program. I created and taught pronunciation, STEM, and coding lesson plans via Google Classroom and 1:1 coaching. This experience taught me the importance of education and teamwork. I have enjoyed the time I worked with my student, and have learned a lot from her as well. I learned how dedication is very important when developing a skill, and without dedication or passion, nothing is possible. Social Media Challenge was another project that I initiated to spread awareness about the EmpowerandHelp Global Challenge and the Ambassador Program. It was a seven-day challenge, where each day we posted important information about EmpowerandHelp Global Challenge and Ambassador Program. It was a wonderful experience, where I was able to implement my ideas. I have also been apart of writing the August 2020 Newsletter. In this edition, we covered the work done by our ambassadors throughout the program including projects Cards of Hope, Community Drives, Online Mentorship Program, and Blog Articles written by fellow ambassadors. This project involved a lot of teamwork and communication. It was a project I enjoyed working on because I was able to work with my other team members and share ideas with one another to make our Newsletter as best as it can be! Another wonderful experience was writing a blog article about how people can help out their communities during a global pandemic. It improved my research and writing skills and helped me see things from a different set of lenses. While I wrote articles, I also read and reviewed many of my fellow ambassador’s articles which gave me experience in peer-reviewing. Additionally, I also have written many cards for the CardsofHope Project, to thank our essential workers who are putting themselves out there in the midst of the pandemic. Another activity I led was the creation of a video that EmpowerandHelp submitted to the PBS News segment about the CardsofHope project. This activity involved teamwork and creativity, and I had a great time working on this. I was the official note-taker of our weekly meeting which allowed me to keep all the ambassadors in the loop and mentor the new ambassadors as needed. I have truly enjoyed being a part of the EmpowerandHelp Ambassador Program. I was able to implement my ideas and make a contribution to my community. I will never forget this experience because it was near and dear to my heart. Link to publications by Sahasra can be found at –
Global Challenge Ambassador – Meha Datla Joining the EmpowerandHelp program and becoming an ambassador allowed me to use my voice and assist those in need. I have written several articles such as “The Yemen Crisis” and “The Dark Reality behind Manufacturing Makeup” to spread awareness on certain dilemmas. My first published article talks about Yemen’s current affairs and what led to the escalation of their current situation. The other article consists of information on Mica, a shiny mineral that is extracted using child labor and used in popular cosemtic products. In each article, I made sure to include resources to succor those in need . Additionally, I was a part of the team that wrote the EmpowerandHelp’s August 2020 newsletter edition.Working with other ambassadors allowed me to improve my teamwork skills as we collaborated to think of creative ways to format and write the article. Another memorable project I’ve worked on was mentoring Syrian Refugees;I was assigned with a student and assisted her in improving her pronunciation skills through weekly zoom calls. This was intended to prepare her to be successful during the upcoming school year as she was not accustomed to virtual learning. The EmpowerandHelp program has allowed me to educate myself more about current affairs, use my voice, and leave a positive mark on my community. Link to publications by Meha can be found at –
Global Challenge Ambassador – Medha Datla I have learned so much during my time as a part of the EmpowerandHelp Ambassador Program and it has helped me in so many ways. It gave me a platform to use my voice to speak up on issues that are important to me in order to make a difference. I was able to publish an article titled “The Evolution of Feminism over the Years”. In it, I talked about the ever changing feminism movement through the discussion of its definition in each of its phases, and the criticism it has faced – historically and even now. This is a subject I am especially passionate about and I am glad I was able to spread awareness and talk about its importance. Perhaps my favorite project I was involved in is the Online Mentorship Program. I was assigned a student from an immigrant family that came to the United States through a refugee resettlement program. I designed the curriculum I would use, with the help of the online tool code.org and additional teaching resources, and gave her coding lessons. We had one on one sessions through zoom and I learned a lot from this experience. I was also on the team that came out with EmpowerandHelp’s first edition August 2020 Newsletter which talks about the various projects that the ambassadors were involved in. Through lots of collaboration and effort, we published a newsletter that we were all very proud of. This was an amazing experience where I was able to make a positive mark on my community and I am incredibly proud to have had the opportunity to be able to do this. Link to publications by Medha can be found at –
|