About Me
My name is Reese and I’m currently a junior at Polytechnic School. I am currently attending Mandarin IV and have taken the Climate Change and Global Inequalities and Genocide and Human Rights Global Online Academy Courses.
Why I am a Global Scholar
From having an immigrant parent and immigrant grandparents, I’ve always been interested in the international world. I grew up hearing firsthand stories about fleeing from war, the sacrifices my relatives made in order to immigrate to the United States, and the after-effects of immigration like racism and xenophobia that my relatives faced. Additionally, though I was born in America, as the daughter of an immigrant, I myself experience racism and xenophobia, so I have been able to relate and contrast my experience with my immigrant relatives' experiences. More recently, the first Global Online Academy course I took, Climate Change and Global Inequalities, really sparked my desire to become a global scholar specifically. In that class, I got to speak to people from different countries about the way they are affected by climate change. Hearing their stories, I was reminded of how much privilege I have in the United States and felt motivated, obliged even, to use my privilege and take action in any way I could. Because we also focused on global inequalities in the class, I became really interested in how to solve climate change and other global issues in an equitable manner. Furthermore, I also just loved the experience of meeting and communicating with students from around the world. I have even kept in touch with some of my classmates and cherish our friendships immensely. Through the Global Scholars program, I hope that I can meet more global scholars from around the world and hear about their experiences and lives so that we better understand one another and have more empathy for all. From this empathy and understanding, we can work together to solve global issues in a way that is suitable and equitable for everyone.
Climate Action Together
I am a co-founder of Poly's Climate Action Together club, which focuses on SDG 13, climate action, and strives to combat climate change through education and subsequent action. The club originated as my capstone project for my Climate Change and Global Inequalities Global Online Academy course, but has now grown into so much more. In our club meetings, we have discussed carbon footprints, food waste, plastic pollution, and ways to reduce our emissions. In the future, we plan on making CAT a global organization, partnering with students from around the world to bring CAT to their schools.