Advot in Action

October 2024

Our first 5-week session at New Village Girls Academy ended early last month. My students pushed through discomfort, shyness, and insecurity to draft some powerful, personal, and touching personal statements. I was pleasantly surprised and so proud.

“I’ve always been excited to dress up. My mom would make me excited to dress in the morning when I was a little girl. She would help me pick out my outfits and she would tell me I was her ‘muñeca,’” one student wrote.

“I am passionate about using my voice and power to lead others and stand up for what I believe in. Being a leader and standing up for what I believe in makes me feel motivated and empowered to become the best version of myself,” another wrote.

“I think one of the drawings I do remember is drawing the Virgin Mary as a kid with a pen at my grandmother’s house while getting babysat. One of my drawings that meant a lot to me was a clown in cuffs that I drew for my dad while in prison. It meant a lot to me because I made it for my dad,” a third wrote.

We began a new rotation, and I met a new class. It was a bit jarring to start fresh after having built a rapport with the previous class during our time together. This new group is phone-obsessed and disengaged. There were long instances of quiet in my first class. They didn’t even talk to each other in a distracting way. They were just…silent.

I need to remember to stay patient and let the rapport build, to allow time for them to warm up to me and understand why I’m there. I need to remember that these are students occupied with so many other factors, and that their disengagement isn’t about me

I will do my best to stay hopeful, to lean on my skills, to pivot as needed, and even to throw plans away in order to cater to these students’ needs.

And it’s OK for me to miss my other class too. Just for a little while.

By: Annie Kee, Managing Director