The OU-Pontiac倡议’s Early Childhood Education group (OUPIECE) recently traveled alongside seven Pontiac High School students to present at the Harvard Graduate School of Education 有色人种校友大会 (AOCC).
该小组的领导人协调了这次旅行，作为该组织的一部分 庞蒂亚克复原计划, an initiative that aims to spread awareness of the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and childhood trauma on growing brains, as well as the significance of relationships and compassion in building a healing, 有弹性的庞蒂亚克.
According to the 疾病控制和预防中心, 61%的成年人至少经历过一次ACE, 哪些会在以后的生活中导致过多的健康问题, 包括抑郁症, 心脏病和肥胖. ACEs can also negatively impact education and employment potential for many individuals.
“我们在ace方面的工作……是因为在我们的OUPIECE会议期间, the members repeatedly expressed that the biggest issue for the children in Pontiac is childhood trauma,” said Dr. Tomoko Wakabayashi, associate professor in OU’s Department of Human Development and Child Studies. “为了预防和消除ace, 这些年轻人正在用他们的声音来影响他们的同龄人, families, 社区成员, 关于ace和韧性的科学, in a way we, adults, can’t.”
这次旅行是由庞蒂亚克学区资助和支持的, and matched by the SEHS Dean’s Office and Department of Human Development and Child Studies, while the Pontiac school board voted and approved to fund and send Angela Powell Medlock, 庞蒂亚克高中的高危社工, 这七个学生.
The students were accompanied by Wakabayashi; Medlock; Shawna Boomgaard, social work/mental health faculty member at Oakland Community College; and Canequia (“Coco”) Moulder, 庞蒂亚克承诺区的执行董事. 这四名妇女目前都是联检组领导小组的成员, while the latter three are also current doctoral students in OU’s School of 教育及公共服务.
The seven Pontiac High School students presented their self-proclaimed “Phoenix Talk” — in reference to their school’s mascot — titled “‘We Hear You’: Sharing the Authentic Voices of Pontiac Youth” on Friday, March 3. 演讲的重点是青少年的心理健康, as well as the impact of ACEs on brain development and later health and behavior. The students also discussed learning to step back and ask, “What happened to you?而不是“你怎么了??若林说, 讲演击中了许多听众的要害, including the father of one Pontiac High School student who drove from Pontiac to Boston to see his son present.
在会议上的演讲中, there was not a dry eye in the audience as the students shared their journeys thus far to build their own resilience,” Boomgaard said. “他们每天面临的挑战可能会影响他们, 但他们与家人建立了更牢固的联系, 朋友和他们生活的社区. 一位学生解释道, 当他们被要求用一个词来形容这段经历时, they replied, ‘empowered.’ ”
作为密歇根ACE倡议社区冠军(MACCs), the students will now be trained to use the ACE materials to help OUPIECE train other youth in Pontiac and its surrounding communities.
“The Pontiac High School students have received the MACC training since August of 2022,” Boomgaard said. 在这次旅行之后, [they] will learn to become trainers of the work using the materials from the Michigan ACE Initiative, 与OUPIECE领导团队一起. The goal will be to have the students train not only the middle schoolers in Pontiac, 但是社区.”
在访问期间, the students also had the opportunity to meet with Harvard University President Larry Bacow, a Pontiac native.
“They were really aware how they would be representing Pontiac High School and Pontiac,若林说. “校长要求每个学生不仅要告诉他自己是谁, 而是他们居住的确切街道或城市的一部分. 我觉得这真的打破了僵局.”
Bacow’s conversation with the students largely focused on their shared experiences as residents of Pontiac. He also imparted advice to the graduating seniors about the transition to college and the unexpected turns that life took for him.
“[The students’] faces lit up when [Bacow] talked about how they too can make a difference,” Boomgaard said. “They were empowered to move forward in school and life — take things seriously, 成为变革的力量. 他们确实受到了这次谈话的启发.”
对巴科来说，这也是一次鼓舞人心的经历, who recalled a trip to his hometown at the beginning of his presidency in 2018 before noting that, 通过这次会议, 他现在的角色——他将于6月卸任——”从庞蒂克开始到结束.”
During the trip, the students also attended a performance by the Boston Symphony Orchestra with guest conductor André Raphel, 作为BSO“失落之声”的一部分, 清算与希望节. The three-week festival features music from a multitude of artists and genres to promote conversations about social change.
这场音乐会是一场以屋大维·卡托为中心的清唱剧, a 19th century African-American educator and civil rights activist who was assassinated in his fight for justice.
“这太神奇了, moving [and] educational experience that just happened to be the perfect timing for the trip,若林在谈到这场音乐会时说.
Retrospectively, Wakabayashi and Boomgaard both felt every aspect of the trip helped further the mission of OUPIECE by raising awareness of ACEs and empowering young people to speak out on issues that impact them.
演讲结束后, one student told me how she felt listened to — our youths realize that their voices matter,若林说. “她告诉我，一开始她很紧张, 但当她看到每个人都变得情绪化, 她觉得人们在听他们说话. 她说:“我不再是那个来自庞蒂亚克的可怜孩子了.’ ”
OUPIECE leaders have planned several forthcoming events to continue spreading awareness of — and inspiring efforts to prevent — ACEs. 在哈佛之行成功之后, 他们还表示希望将其变成一年一度的机会, 资金允许.
“The most rewarding part of this trip was giving these young people a different perspective of the world, providing an opportunity to show them that possibilities exist and that they are just as capable of being their greater selves with the support of people encouraging their success,” Moulder said. 他们的喜悦就足够了.”
有关OUPIECE的更多信息，请访问 mvisi.com/community/pontiac-initiative.
April 19, 2023
By Trevor Tyle
