Learning Life is now seeking individuals and organizations interested in helping to build a “World Affairs Pipeline” connecting lower-income metro DC children to opportunities and careers in international relations.
The Challenge
Washington DC is a world city divided. On one hand, DC is home to thousands of individuals and organizations daily engaged in international affairs. On the other hand, DC is also home to thousands of lower-income youth that have traveled little if at all outside DC, and are largely disconnected from the wider world as well as their own community. These two groups are in some ways worlds apart, yet often live just blocks apart, and may cross paths daily, strangers to each other. Nonetheless, both groups are inescapably part of a wider world increasingly connected in at once exciting and frightful ways. Those disengaged from an early age may not only be left behind, but become the resentful rather than caring global citizens we need.
The Proposed Pipeline
There is much that caring individuals and organizations in metro DC can do to help bridge the divide between these two groups, but it takes vision, collaborative planning, and follow-through. It also takes a pipeline. Committed groups already build steel and plastic pipelines to deliver oil and gas to homes and businesses across the world. So can they build social pipelines that nurture, in coordinating ways, caring global citizens from kindergarten to after-school, weekend and summer youth and family programs, to internships and volunteer opportunities, to higher education programs and apprenticeships, to jobs and careers in world affairs.
This is what we propose. We are Learning Life, an educational nonprofit based in Ward 8 of Washington DC. Our flagship program, the Citizen Diplomacy Initiative (CDI), engages lower-income Ward 8 families in live dialogues and project collaborations with lower-income families in other nations to help democratize diplomacy, and nurture more caring and capable global citizens. We are small but innovative. We know that nurturing caring global citizens is not easy, but committed groups can transform people, cities and the world. It takes more than one organization though. It takes a city.
Get Involved
To get involved, join our Facebook group to share news and resources, and to engage our growing community. We will notify you via the Facebook group of pipeline-planning meetings when they start. Questions, suggestions, or want to get involved as a pipeline organizer? Contact Learning Life’s Director, Paul Lachelier, at paul@learninglife.info or 202-910-6966.
Intern Spotlight: Amit Gerstein
This is the second in a series of spotlights on our spring 2017 student interns. Learning Life’s students this spring are translating documents, conducting research, fundraising, and doing outreach locally and internationally for our Citizen Diplomacy Initiative (CDI), and other work. Amit Gerstein, interviewed below, is helping with CDI fundraising and outreach to potential partners in the Middle East, among other activities.
Where were you born and raised?
I was born and raised in Rockville, Maryland, about 40 minutes away from Washington, D.C.
What school do you attend, and what is your year and major there?
I am a freshman at the George Washington University studying International Affairs with an intended concentration in Global Public Health. I am planning on also minoring in Psychology, or Women’s, Gender and Sexuality studies.
What do you like to do in your free time?
In my free time I read and binge-watch shows on Netflix. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon is my all time favorite book (see my favorite show below) and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close my favorite movie. I love exploring D.C. and trying new foods. If you haven’t tried a sushi burrito, they are an absolute must.
Is there a life experience you have had that has particularly shaped you as a person thus far? If so, what is it, and how has it shaped you?
After high school and before attending college, I took a gap year, and I went to Israel where I spent the year working, learning, and volunteering. It was an amazing experience living in Israel and witnessing the interaction of different religions, cultures, and people. In fact, for part of the year I lived in Jerusalem, right next to the tomb of King David and the Room of the Last Supper and only a few minutes away from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Arab market, Temple Mount, and Western Wall! Being in one of the world’s religious and cultural epicenters was an incredible experience, and being able to spend my year learning and volunteering made it all the more meaningful. Over my year, I met and spoke with people from diverse backgrounds – Jews and Arabs, Christians and Druze, Palestinians and settlers, secular and Hasidic – and that opened my eyes to the complex and fascinating dynamics within Israel and the Middle East.
What are your career plans?
I’ll let you know as soon as I know!
Why did you choose to intern with Learning Life?
I wanted to be able to work with an organization that truly makes an impact on its community. I have done internships in the past where I was working on larger projects without seeing the results of my work and with no interaction with the people who I was helping. The results of my work with Learning Life, on the other hand, are tangible, and I know and can even meet the people who I am helping, which makes it so much more rewarding.
What is the most beautiful place you have seen on Earth, and why is it so beautiful?
The most beautiful thing I have ever seen was the theatrical production of Mark Haddon’s book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The way that the story and the emotions of the characters were visually conveyed through the stage-work and lighting was incredibly powerful. The show is told from the perspective of Christopher, an autistic boy, and the way the story is told, the audience can experience the world as he does, feel the emotions that he does, and see the world through his eyes.
Intern Spotlight: Bruna Distinto
This is the second of a series of spotlights on our summer 2016 student volunteers. Learning Life’s student volunteers this summer are translating documents, conducting research and doing outreach locally and internationally for our new Citizen Diplomacy Initiative (CDI) established this year. CDI will connect American families in Washington D.C. with families in other parts of the world through live online video-dialogue starting this summer. Bruna has been providing invaluable help in translating CDI documents into Spanish, screening D.C. families for participation in the dialogues, outreach in El Salvador, and more.
Where were you born and raised?
I was born in Santa Cruz, Bolivia and moved here to Washington D.C. with my family when I was six years old.
What school do you attend, and what is your year and major there?
I am a junior at Trinity Washington University and I am majoring in International Affairs.
What do you like to do in your free time?
In my free time I love to play soccer with my dad and friends, as well as spend time with my family. I love Netflix, so you will most likely catch me on it when I am home.
What is the most beautiful place you have seen on Earth, and why is it so beautiful?
Since moving here I have not been able to visit another country, so for now the most beautiful place I have been to has been Marco Island in Florida. The beach was incredible, the water was crystal clear and you could see the different colors of the rocks (red, blue, green, etc.) shining through the water.
Is there a particular life experience you have had that has shaped you as a person? If so, what was it, and how has it shaped who you are?
The life experience that has shaped me as a person would have to be leaving high school and trying to figure out my college plans. As a non-citizen, there were few to no options for me to attend college because of the lack of financial aid and scholarship funds. However, because I was a DACA recipient (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival, an Obama Administration policy that provides children of immigrants documents enabling them to study and work in the USA), I was thankfully able to gain a Dreamer Scholarship that provides me with a full scholarship to attend Trinity! Going through two years of nonstop calling colleges and searching for scholarships helped shaped me as a person because I learned how hard it can be to receive a higher education, but that you cannot give up because there is always a way.
Why did you choose to intern with Learning Life?
I chose to intern with Learning Life because I have always wanted to work with children and help out my community in some way. Being raised in D.C., this was a perfect internship for me because I could do just that.
What are your career plans?
My career plans are to further my education as much as possible and eventually work for a U.S. nonprofit organization that works to help immigrants, or one that does international work with Latin America countries.
Intern Spotlight: Samantha MacFarlane
This is the first of two profiles of Learning Life’s fall 2015 student interns. This fall, our two bright and capable interns, Samantha MacFarlane and Ian Thomas, are drafting new quizzes, five facts and big questions for Learning Life’s website, assisting with community research, and helping in other ways for which we are grateful. To learn more about interning with Learning Life contact us atemail@learninglife.info.
Where were you born and raised?
I was born in Miami and raised in South Florida, splitting weekends between the beach and Disney World.
What is your school, year and major?
I’m a senior at Georgetown University, studying Culture and Politics in Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I like to listen to music and walk around the neighborhood or city, especially in the fall. I’m also a big fan of Netflix and watching documentaries with friends.
What is the most beautiful place you have seen on Earth, and why is it so beautiful?
Last Christmas, I was abroad in Morocco with an American friend. We had our own makeshift Christmas Eve with hot chocolate and Christmas music on his laptop as we sat in the backyard of our hostel in a small mountain town. Miles away from major cities, I saw more stars that night than ever before and got to make lots of shooting-star wishes.
Is there a particular life experience you have had that has shaped you as a person? If so, what was it, and how has it shaped who you are?
I studied abroad last year in Morocco and Senegal, which was the longest I’d been away from my friends and family in the United States. Stripped of the comforts of familiarity, and even my native language, my experiences and friendships were genuine and eye-opening. I learned a lot about myself and about how things work in other parts of the world, which has also given me a new perspective on the US since I’ve gotten back. I’m still working on it, but my year abroad showed me how to slow down, spend time with friends and family, and not get so caught up in the process of working, studying, and chasing money.
Why did you choose to intern with Learning Life?
Learning Life is driven by values that resonate with my own beliefs. The importance given to empowerment through education is lacking worldwide, and this internship allows me to work for that cause while gaining valuable research and writing skills.
What are your career plans?
I would eventually like to work with NGOs (non-governmental organizations) in developing countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa addressing issues of education or human rights. For the moment I’m looking at opportunities for service abroad before starting real life.
