Paris F. is not like most students. She reads constantly. She co-founded the high school’s Banned Books Club. And she loves museums.
“It’s been a passing thought as a kid, like maybe I’d work in a museum,” the 11th grader said. And in a way, she got that opportunity this past summer. As an intern in the Bringing the Lessons Home program with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Paris was able to delve more deeply into the history of the Holocaust and practice her presentational skills as a teen docent, giving tours to museum visitors.
“I wanted to try to make myself become more social,” Paris said. “When I get to a new environment, I’m really quiet and shy. But I knew we would be giving tours to people, so I needed to figure out how to keep people engaged.”
The E.L. Haynes Graduate Profile focuses on our students as curious learners who “explore new ideas, activities, and experiences… to increase their own personal knowledge.” Paris stood out as a 9th grader in World History for her curiosity and depth in her writing, especially in her work on the Holocaust and in researching Korean comfort women.
“I like history in general, but histories about genocides, and how unfair and cruel people have been to get into power interest me so much,” she said. “You might think ‘No, that can’t possibly happen now. Why didn’t people do anything?’”
While Paris’s interest in history motivated her to apply for the internship, the realities of working with new people and the prospect of presenting this important history to groups of strangers were intimidating.
One teacher adviser at the museum, Jolly, helped Paris find her voice in the internship. “It really helped me open my shell. I had to learn how to be comfortable around people I didn’t know,” Paris said. “Also, I’ve always had struggles speaking up about something, but Jolly was the first person I went to when I was uncomfortable.”
“It really helped me open my shell. I had to learn how to be comfortable around people I didn’t know…”
Paris F., 11th Grader
The Graduate Profile also celebrates “Applied Learning,” and Paris used this experience to grow her leadership skills. She is now the Vice President of the Liberty’s Promise club at E.L. Haynes, which works with a regional non-profit organization to support low-income immigrant youth.
In addition, she’s taken upon herself to continue educating her peers. “Ever since the Holocaust Museum, I’ve been encouraging people to talk to Holocaust survivors,” she said. “A lot of survivors are getting very old, and the fewer people you have left to talk about their experiences, the less people will talk about what people went through.”
By building her social and presentation skills, engaging with difficult and important history, and learning to speak up about the issues most important to her, Paris embodies many aspects of the Graduate Profile: curiosity, applied learning, and a social justice orientation.
“If you study history, you start noticing a cycle of things happening. Lots of kids say, ‘This could never happen again,’” she said. “But that’s why we have museums, to tell the stories of how these things build up.”
Written by Griffin Pepper | Griffin teaches 12th grade History at E.L. Haynes.
Editorial Fellows are E.L. Haynes staff with a penchant for storytelling, writing, and the visual arts. Fellows develop and publish original stories that amplify the many voices and perspectives of the E.L. Haynes community.