“On Friday, when we found out that Obama would be one floor below Y-Press's headquarters in The Indianapolis Star building, we thought we might finally have a chance to interview him. Obama would be only feet away. This was it.
“After literally sprinting to join his crowd of admirers on Vermont Street as he shook hands with Hoosier fans, I somehow managed to get his attention. Without much hesitation, he granted me two minutes to ask my question about America’s relationship with international youth. With is hand on my shoulder and looking me intently in the eye, Barack Obama responded.
“Obama: Well I think that we want young people around the world to be able to look to America for hope. That is what John F. Kennedy was able to inspire around the world. That is our greatest export: hope.
“Like any journalist, I simply wanted my question answered. And, after lots of hard work, and a little bit of luck, I had.” – Jordan Denari, 17, Y-Press
Click here for the latest audio commentaries from Y-Press, WKCD’s partner in our series, “Youth On the Trail.”
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Lights, Camera . . . Leadership! Vermont Youth Document Their Communities |
| Vermont farmer Charles Russell remembers when he told his dad he wanted to be a farmer. His father quipped, “What you gonna grow, rocks?” Russell is one several scrappy organic farmers featured in “Farmers Have a Say,” a film produced by students at Cabot Middle School. For the past several years, students in various towns across Vermont have used video to tell community stories that make neighbors sit up and applaud. |  |
Immigrant Students in the Bronx Debate Early Marriage and Pregnancy |
| “It’s heartbreaking to see my friends give up their future for early marriage,” says college freshman Aminata Seck, a young female from Senegal starting life anew in the U.S. Two years ago, Amina and Mariam Dagnoko, then Bronx high school seniors, decided to create a documentary video about the struggle they and other immigrant teens face with family traditions that push young motherhood. | |
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In Our Global Village |
| Inspired by WKCD’s book, In Our Village: Kambi ya Simba Through the Eyes of Its Youth, students and teachers in communities across the United States and in ten other countries have been creating and publishing their own “In Our Village” books. They’ve also been raising money for scholarships and school supplies for this poor rural African village. Almost thirty books are underway, with more to come. WKCD has begun posting electronic copies of these books as they reach print. | |
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Youth for a Change: An Audio Slideshow |
| At this year’s annual National Service Learning Conference in Minneapolis, WKCD teamed up with students to document the festivities, workshops, and plenary sessions. The students roamed the 3-day event with cameras and tape recorders, as did WKCD. WKCD. We then wove the photos and audio into a 7-minute montage of images and voices. Conference highlights ranged from Archbishop Desmond Tutu and youth-adult workshops to an exhibit hall that rocked with food, music, books, and hands-on activities. | |
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The Big Score: Chicago High School Students Debate College Admission Tests |
| For students at Chicago’s Oak Park and River Forest High School (OPRF), the buzz surrounding college preparation is intense. The school sends almost 90 percent of its graduates to college. In January 2008, WKCD sat down with five OPRF students to talk about how they judge intelligence, and their experiences with standardized tests. |
