On November 2, Palmer’s very own Work-Based Learning class received well-deserved attention while being broadcasted internationally to upwards of 2,000 people. They were able to live-stream a conference run by the company Unity for Humanity that creates the gaming software they used.

I was granted the opportunity to interview a few of these students the day after the event, and after spending close to an hour I can tell you with full honesty these group of students are some the kindest and funniest people you will meet.  I am greatly honored and thankful I was granted this opportunity. These students are a great representation of being able to rise past challenges set on them by society and being able to succeed.

I was able to talk to Sasha, Gray, Yettziry, Keshawn, Jackson, Emmalyn, and Shawn.  This is how our conversations went.

When asked “What were some highlights of the conference?” I was giving a wide variety of answers but a common one among the group was the genuine shock and surprise as to how many people actually watched; they had no clue the actual number till after the panel was complete. “We didn’t really know how many people were watching; we thought it was closer to 80 people…nowhere near the actual number,”  stated Keshawn.

My favorite response was from Gray though. He stated, “I would have to say… Being able to do it with the team.”

When the group was asked “What were some things you wish were done differently?” I got the common response of wishing to be able to do it in person or at least to be able to see faces instead of talking into a camera for an hour or so.  Our one exception was from Shawn, and I promised him I would voice his concerns: “I wish instead of the pizza party after, we got Chipotle.”  That was his only complaint, so I guess the conference had to have gone well.

When asked “Overall how do you feel about the event?” I received nothing but positive answers, Sasha described it as “Really good! It went really well, very well thought out!”

I made sure to ask the team “How do you feel this will impact Palmer as a whole?” I received an array of response all around, while the team all had the same hopes. Yettziry said, “Hopefully attention from the higher-ups.” Gray added onto that, “Yeah, hopefully we can finally get air conditioning!”

My favorite response came from Emmalyn though. She stated, “I hope it makes more people interested in doing this stuff,  makng an impact,  and letting people know that teenagers are capable of so much more than what people assume.”

Keshawn was one of the few second-year students in the program. This is his last year at Palmer so I made sure to ask him where he hopes the program will lead.  “I really just want to open up possibilities for students next year,” he responded.

One of the last questions was, “What inspires you?” I love the wide range responses students gave, all the way from movies to wanting to be independent. Jackson wants to “pursue anything creative anything out of the norm.” Keshawn gave us the answer, “Helping people; I want to help as much as I can before I leave.” Sasha is inspired by, “Storytelling, I want to be able to tell a mix of stories and people from all walks of life.” And Shawn, being the absolutely stunning human he is,  told me, “Unofficially… Spite.”

What were students’ last thoughts for the Palmer audience? Whilst Gray wanted to leave us with, “Try hard enough you can do it no matter the chance,” the rest of the group wanted to say what I first believed to be an inside joke, but now I believe is a desperate plea for help…

“Keshawn like to keep people in his basement” said Emmalyn.

“Keshawn should be in prison,” stated Shawn.

Keshawn just said, “I like to keep people in my dungeon.” He claims to have over 60 people in his basement.

Sasha just started beatboxing… Very well.