Clarity
By: Zoe Walker, CAS ’21
Sydney Story Factory – Australia
For the past year, I have answered the question, “What do you want to do?” with a variety of vague, searching, tongue-in-cheek responses. That has not changed after a week and a half in Australia: I still have little idea what my professional path will look like. However, my internship experience so far with Sydney Story Factory has reinforced some of the things that I have been thinking about for years and has helped me reframe many of my passions in a new way.
I have realized that this internship is the latest manifestation of my interest in urban education as a philosophical framework. During my lunch breaks spent wandering around the Story Factory’s Redfern headquarters, a traditionally Aboriginal community which has been gentrifying rapidly over the last few years, my mind has been trying to synthesize a few distinct strains of thought.
What if urban education became synonymous with creativity-rich curriculum? What if The People In Charge understood that for urban at-risk youth in Sydney, Philadelphia and all over the world, creativity and writing are not a luxury but tools for survival and resistance? What if urban education became known for its emphasis on honoring marginalized communities, be they Aboriginal, African American, or the like? Became a petri dish for community-based learning and cultural awareness? What if these vulnerable kids started every day with chanting “I love myself,” not just those rare days when John the Storyteller comes into their classroom with an alien mask on?
I am definitely not the first to wonder about these things, and granted the details are nonexistent. All I know is that I continue to find myself back to this expansive and liberatory idea of what urban education could mean.Â
Whatever I end up doing professionally, I know that I will not be able to forget my time at the Story Factory which has given me a new appreciation for public school teachers and a deeper understanding of the need for imagination in school. From what I know about myself, I do not think I have the patience to be a teacher personally, however I have always had a deep love for policy and government. I deeply believe in the transformative power of two things: education and legislation. I am still contemplating how to combine these two passions, but my time in Australia has already given me a considerable amount of clarity.
The Global Research and Internship Program (GRIP) provides outstanding undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to intern or conduct research abroad for 8 to 12 weeks over the summer. Participants gain career-enhancing experience and global exposure that is essential in a global workforce. Placements and funding awards are available.