Today some other students and I went to a conference called Together We Create Change, organized by the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board. We were displaying the model we made over the time we spent with No.9, our concept of what the land near Liuna Station should look like integrating sustainable features into the landscape. The layout of the room was such that you didn’t make a presentation, but students would come up to your display and ask you questions about our model.
Before any of that happened, we gathered in the middle of the banquet hall to hear the keynote speaker Molly Burke, who went fully blind in the 8th Grade. Her story was very compelling to everyone in the conference hall. She spoke of her hardships being bullied because of her disability, and going through a depression because of it.
By the end of the speech, however, Molly had explained that she decided to create change in the world after feeling a piece of jewelry that spelled out hope. She would go on to go to Africa, work with Craig Kielburger (the founder of Free the Children) and accomplish many other things in her life. She left with a message to the audience that she lives by: Live, Learn, Pass It On.
Throughout the remainder of the conference, we visited other displays and asked questions the same as those displays asked us questions. Many schools represented had great ideas and had taken action on issues in today’s world. We also were encouraged to take part in many different interactive activities related to the concept of creating change in our world. By the end of the day, everyone had learned that it is possible to create change.
Class 87's Website 