2014 Essay Contest

Divya Goel - High School, essay winner for 2014 Esteemed Women of Michigan

$500 was awarded to Divya sponsored by the Nathima Atchoo Trust

 

Divya Goel International Academy Central
Empowerment Through Education

Education is a tool that privileged societies such as ours have come to take for granted. I realized this reality about two years ago, when I first heard the story of Malala Yousafzai, a young woman shot in the head by the Taliban, and only nine days older than me. The brutality of the incident shocked me immediately and I began poring through countless articles, trying to determine why an infamous terrorist organization would have any interest in attacking a 14year old girl. Malala grew up in Pakistan, facing a ban on education for girls like her, not enforced by the government but by fear of terrorist groups that vowed to punish any female attempting to obtain an education. She spoke up against this evil from the age of 11, and her growing voice caused alarm among these terrorist groups who decided to take action against her. Soon after her recovery, Malala invoked a call to action, emphasizing that the youth worldwide must attempt to change the face of education for their peers for any effective change to occur. I began to consider the educational opportunities I had been afforded thus far, from attending one of the top ranked public high schools in the country to the unspoken expectation that I will have the opportunity to attend college. Simultaneously, I noted that only a matter of miles away, children were attending some of the most poorly ranked schools in the nation and would likely never obtain any sort of higher education. While not a paradox as grave as Malala’s situation, I decided it was something I could and had the responsibility to fix.

The summer before my junior year of high school, I visited a transitional housing facility for women and children known as Lighthouse PATH, in Pontiac. The summer camp usually held here had been cancelled due to low staffing, so I decided to use my resources as a Girl Scout and science knowledge to create and staff a weeklong camp. I led two to three hands on science experiments and demonstrations each day from a chemical reaction to form slime to creating a model of the lung and explained healthy lifestyle ideas such as diet and exercise. More difficult to continue during the school year, the program transitioned to tutoring sessions I set up on Sunday afternoons. The response to these sessions was enormous, and solidified one key idea in my mind. As a society, we often blame the statistics of low performing students in low income areas on a lack of motivation, not necessarily a lack of resources. However, when I met a mother trying to teach her two year old to read with an immense amount of success, so that “she can have a bright future, earlier,” this was not the picture I saw. When I met a ninth grade student struggling still to learn multiplication and ready to give up due to the taunting of her peers and the continuous oversight of her school system, this was not the picture I saw. Most importantly, when I began to see results with the few students I could reach just with Once a week short sessions, the picture of unmotivated teachers and hassled school systems is the one I saw.

With the knowledge that even short individualized sessions could make a difference, I realized the impact that could be had if such attention was given daily, in schools. Thus, when I received the opportunity to become involved with an organization called Team Strength Detroit, I jumped at the chance. This group aims to change educational policy in conjunction with the European Union, on a huge scale. With plans specifically addressing the main areas of need in school systems such as Detroit Public Schools, this team of high schoolers from International Academy, the number one school in Michigan, and Osborn High School, one at the bottom of the list, works to change public school policy in Michigan first. I know that my voice can now be used as a tool to share the voices of students who can’t speak loud enough for themselves, just as Malala does, and just as must be done for the system to change.

Changing a deeply ingrained, cyclical system of inefficiency, amotivation of professionals, and the subsequent demoralization of students that occurs, is certainly not an overnight process. I intend to work with Team Strength Detroit throughout this year, and hopefully find a way to continue this work when I, hopefully, leave for college next year. After earning a Gold Award for starting my education and healthy living program at Lighthouse PATH, the wealth of resources available for this program has great potential to expand. I plan to pursue such an expansion this year, and find an underclassman or group of underclassmen with the commitment and drive to carry this program in the years to come. In the last few years, I have also developed a passion for entrepreneurship, and have been able to realize the change that can come of this medium. While women are highly underrepresented in this space, this is beginning to change, and I aim to be at the forefront of this change. Starting a social venture is my main goal as a method to change what I see around me. I want to start something that will give back to my community and improve it for the years to come. Whether this means I change educational opportunities for a handful of students in Michigan or bring widespread schooling to girls who would not otherwise have any such opportunity, the privileges of my own education will have been put to meaningful use. Malala Yousafzai herself says “One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world,” and I aim to be one of those children, one of those teachers, and one of those who can fight for countless more to exist for our future generations.