The ACIS Global Citizen Workshop in Action

Last month, Jill Federschneider and I traveled to Charlotte, NC to speak at Union County Early College High School about Global Citizenship, ACIS and how travel changes lives. Two students and a teacher wrote the following article about our visit and the impact it had.

On March 4, Union County Early College invited guests from ACIS to educate us about Global Citizenship. ACIS stands for the American Council of International Studies. They take students around the world because they believe that they grow through travel and experience. During the assembly, our hosts Jill and Marc, taught us what it meant to be a global citizen and focused on issues in other countries of the world. Students from our school talked about experiences they have had when traveling abroad and how contrastingly different other countries are from the United States.

Some of the issues that were mentioned related to global travel were: some places didn’t have access to clean water, electricity, or dependable internet; many of the things we as Americans take for granted. The assembly helped open our eyes and understand how lucky were are to be living in America and to be more grateful for what we have. Everyone at the assembly was active and involved in the discussion about how to solve these global issues. Talking about and spreading the word is bringing us one step closer to solving global problems.

Cindy Nguyen and Karsyn Morrow – UCEC Students

For the Union County Early College Spring 2016 Global Assembly, the American Council of International Studies spoke with our students about their experiences with travel. The ACIS team opened by having students share their travel stories. Some of our students have traveled to Africa, Germany, and the Bahamas. Each student shared their favorite cultural and culinary aspect of that country. A big feature of their presentation incorporated the importance of global citizenship. Global citizenship is someone who identifies with being part of an emerging world community and whose actions contribute to building values and practices. Students responded that they are global citizens by providing aid to countries, studying other countries, and keeping up on current issues. These current issues involve commerce, transportation, poverty, education, and healthcare. Our students find global citizenship impacts us as individuals in our community, as it creates acceptance and gratitude. Natalie Hetzel made an excellent point that it is important to educate ourselves right now instead of waiting until adulthood. By taking action now, our students will be better informed for issues in the future.

Elise Long – UCEC Teacher

If you would like a member of the ACIS team to come to your school to present the Global Citizenship Workshop or talk to students about travel opportunities, let us know!