The Story Exchange: A Catalyst for Change

    Last Monday April 11th, I had the privilege to attend Polytechnic School's first GIP Event since the global pandemic, Stories as a Catalyst for Change Featuring Narrative 4. Narrative 4 is a global network of educators, students, and artists whose mission is to harness the power of the story to equip and embolden young adults to improve their lives, communities, and the world, and we had the pleasure to hear 3 of their representatives come speak with us and share their stories.

    The speakers shared about past projects Narrative 4 has completed, as well as current projects each is working on, and it was amazing to see just how far some of these projects that developed from just a story exchange have come. As someone who has experience participating in a story exchange myself, I know how it can feel to have someone else share your story and to have the responsibility of sharing someone else's, so I can see how the exchange can develop into larger, even more meaningful projects like the speakers talked about. I also felt that these speakers and Narrative 4 as a whole really captured the essence of this year's global scholar theme, Empathy Into Action, as they built on valuable relationship sin order to enact change.

    Aside from learning more about Narrative 4, I also really appreciated the chance to be back in-person for a GIP event, as it made me feel that much more connected to the speakers and their ideas as They spoke directly to me from the stage. It's clear just how valuable Narrative 4 and the story exchange is, and I hope to be involved in another story exchange while at Poly and even further on after high school.