From France to Leon and Back Again: My Story

"My 11-year-old frame stood tense and motionless. I took a deep breath, reached out a sweaty hand to take hold of the microphone and began to speak. The sound of my voice began to echo through the halls of my school."

A couple of hundred signatures and several months later, I received a large manila envelope from the White House. I could hardly contain myself. Anything could be inside: an invitation to a press conference or to speak on the evening news. Maybe even a letter announcing a personal visit from the President himself! I carefully tore open the envelope, reached inside, and slowly pulled out an 8x10 autographed photo of George H.W. Bush. I was devastated. Reality. Nevertheless, this moment of my first plunge into activism sparked a fire in me to be an agent of change.

My personal awareness of the marginalization of vulnerable populations had been awakened as I witnessed, first hand, the struggles of a Hmong refugee family that our family hosted. My first job after college was in a preschool at Better Beginnings Learning Center in the South Bronx. Armed with a BA in romance languages and some experience teaching piano and swimming, I found myself in front of a class of 15 wide-eyed three-year-olds, a host of very skeptical parents and several teaching assistants, all of them with significantly more teaching experience than I.

Courses at Bronx Community College had helped immeasurably as I unlocked the mysteries of early literacy and the importance of play. But nothing could have prepared me for the challenges I encountered among the families in the South Bronx. My students' parents faced problems ranging from unemployment to homelessness and drug abuse. Many were confronting overwhelming challenges at every turn.

I found myself struck by the lack of intra and interagency communication and collaboration that so often thwarts positive change for struggling families. I initiated a relationship with a neighboring Head Start program in the Bronx, hoping to foster an interchange of ideas. An authority on early childhood education came to observe my teaching and offer her critique. This relationship proved very beneficial, and our Director ultimately invited her to consult in the daycare's accreditation process.

This was when the idea of working for social change on a systemic level crystallized for me. I decided to pursue my dream to return to France, for studies. In Paris during 2001, especially following the September 11th terrorist attacks, I was not only exposed to a completely new pedagogy, I was also exposed to ideas that challenged and broadened my relatively unexamined world view. Through the conversations, observations and participation in political, cultural and educational events in France, my conviction to work for social justice continued to evolve.

Back in the US in 2002, I began courses in International Political Studies and volunteered at a residence for homeless teen mothers and their children. Despite the support these young women were receiving, and their often inspiring tenacity to keep battling at all odds, the challenges they faced continued to multiply. How, I wondered, do single mothers in developing countries, with little or no support, find a way to meet the needs of their families?

Encountering a New York Times article on micro-loan initiatives for single mothers in Mexico was a moment in which I realized that promoting poverty reduction strategies like micro-credit, education and women's empowerment, was to become my life's work. My masters program in international development has brought together my desire to learn

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]-->The time I have spent with PMGL since September, 2004, has been an extremely rich experience for me, both professionally and personally. PMGL has left me feeling energized and determined to continue striving for social justice.

about family and child welfare policy and economic development. My love for Spanish and French has helped expand my horizons, allowing me to explore innovative approaches to social injustices and inequalities. I have begun to be the agent of change that I have envisioned for so long. As I return to France for more study, I thank you all for this refreshing and enlightening five months with PMGL in Leon.

It was the year of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Horrified by pictures of animals covered in the pitch black, viscous oil and the photos of miles' long devastation of the coastline, I had decided to do something. Certainly, I reasoned, a petition to the President of the United States would have an effect.