#wlyouthprograms

This year, our YES students celebrated International Education Week by giving presentations about their home countries and cultures to their host communities. They certainly kept busy, as some gave as many as seven presentations in one day! Audiences included their classmates, teachers, World Learning staff, and local community members. These lucky audience members learned about our YES students’ respective cultures by eating new foods, practicing different languages, and learning about daily life in Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Morocco, Pakistan, Tunisia, and Turkey. Let’s hear from a few students and learn more about their presentations!

Shali, Sertaç, and Meriam pose following their presentations to World Learning staff and Washington, DC community members. 

“I am very surprised all of these people came and wanted to learn something about my country. The challenging part was not to talk boring and to make the presentation as enjoyable as possible.” -Sertaç (Turkey) 

Ahmed discusses daily life for him in Egypt with a local Rotary Club in Michigan, after completing presentations to students at his school.

“The students were amazed from what they saw. The most challenging part was my responsibility to make them understand everything and explain because students asked me about many things.” -Ahmed (Egypt) 

Widad and Khadija pose with the IEW materials they handed out around their school.

“My presentation in the middle school was awesome! The students were very interested. With my high school classmates, I tried some fun activities like dress up days, donating traditional food to cafeteria, and bringing clothes to school for everyone to try.” -Widad (Morocco)

Eid gives a presentation on his home country of Jordan to his class. He even brought in some of his favorite food, which his fellow classmates were eager to try! 

This autumn, many of our YES students experienced their first Homecoming Week! In Maryland, Michigan, and Virginia, students participated in spirit activities, attended football games, and learned about their host community’s Homecoming traditions. 

How do YES students celebrate Spirit Day during Homecoming Week? By wearing their school colors and “dabbing” with their classmates!

“My first homecoming-- and quite possible my last! Paw Paw High School organized its Homecoming Week sometime in early October. For me, it was the first time that I would be getting to attend something remotely akin to Homecoming, for I never had a chance to do so back home in Pakistan. We had a whole week and everyday had a different theme, with a Homecoming game closing the week. Our first day was Pajama Day and probably the happiest day for the student body, especially on a Monday! This was followed by Neon Day, Superhero Day, Career Day, and School Pride Day.

“My favorite was Superhero Day, because I didn't go as your average, monotone supey! I was decked in green and wore my country's flag as a cape. Back home, everyday people are your superheroes and my natural sister had helped me execute the idea! The last day was game day, and despite having no clue as to what was happening in the football game, I was totally sporting the red and white sweatshirt and bandanna theme. I plan to have a sort of Homecoming in my school back home, when I go back, InshaAllah!”

-Khadija Shafi, Pakistan

It’s Superhero Day! Khadija wears Pakistan’s flag to honor her favorite superheroes at home.