More Powerful Together! National Service Learning Conference (NSLC)
About QFI and NSLC! This year, QFI is working with NYLC to sponsor a weeklong training for students to participate in the National Service Learning Conference: More Powerful Together! From April 5th – 12th, 2015. QFI will bring together 30 students from Qatar, Brazil, and the United States to participate in this year’s conference, taking place in Washington, D.C. The National Service Learning Conference, organized by the National Youth Leadership Council, brings together thousands of voices to make positive, lasting change in the world. The conference culminates with a Day of Service, sponsored by QFI, where students and teachers will participate in service-learning projects throughout the D.C. community. This event will give back to the host community of D.C. by providing direct service, connecting community members and attendees to nonprofits in the area, and by providing the opportunity to hear from community leaders.
Meet our selected students!
Abdulaziz Al-Haddad Tariq Bin Ziad Secondary School - Doha!
Fun Facts: •
I have a passion for burgers! I try almost one or two new burgers a week and write reviews about them on my Instagram account.
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I am a collector; I have a collection of sculptures of buildings, motorcycles models, airplanes models, souvenirs, and cars.
What I Hope to Gain: I believe that the conference will provide me the knowledge, experience, and the even the motivation to make a change in my community."
Abdullah Jandali Musab Bin Omair Secondary School - Doha!
Fun Facts: •
I try my best to find mistakes for my teachers at school.
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I sleep in the afternoon more than I sleep at night.
What I Hope to Gain: “I hope to learn more about service learning so I can be somehow useful for my community, I also hope to learn more about the U.S and it's culture, and meet new people.”
Ayman Ibrahim Musab Bin Omair Secondary School - Doha!
Fun Facts: •
I like action movies.
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I am crazy about documenting and writing reports.
What I Hope To Gain: I want to learn how to make my own service learning project. In addition to that, I want to meet people from all around the world, make new friends, and increase my self confidence.
Caroline Mayer Boston Latin Academy! Fun Facts: • I take jazz, hip hop, and ballet lessons, but prefer tap • I love to explore new places and have been to Paris and Rome as a cultural learning trip organized by my school
What I Hope to Gain: “I hope to expand my understanding of the Arab World, make my service learning project more successful, build my understanding of how to do more in support of my interests in helping others, and make friends and learn from interesting people”
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Christian Garcia James Campbell High School - Hawaii! Fun Facts: • I like to think myself as a gregarious person who works and gets along well with others.
What I Hope to Gain: “A broadened perspective on ways to help solve issues plaguing the world and an improved mindset from all the workshops and talks at the conference. I also hope to gain new relationships with the other students attending so that I can have friends from all over the globe.”
Grace Bridges International High School New Orleans – Louisiana !
Fun Facts: • My favorite color is purple. • I have a passion for helping the youth and preparing them for the future, in order to make the world a better place.
What I Hope to Gain: “I hope to learn how to become a better leader, so that I can lead others in the right direction. I want to learn how to communicate with people in order to get a general connection and understanding of their world and find ways to guide them through.”
Jonathan Huang Lincoln High School - Oregon!
Fun Facts: • I am a triplet. • I love to play the cello.
What I Hope to Gain: “NSLC will allow me to challenge myself to become a better person as well as a leader. The conference would not only give me the chance to change myself integrally, but take that experience and change my community back home and anywhere else I go.”
Lina Nayel Phoenix Private School - Arizona!
Fun Facts: • I want to live in a world where horses are ridden to school, smiling is contagious, crocheting can be done while reading, and carbon dioxide is no longer emitted from “pollutophiles”. • When I’m not writing History or English essays, you can find her training cream-colored horses, scheduling her overcrowded agenda for the millionth time, connecting faraway countries on the world map, or rubbing her cat’s pink tummy.
What I Hope to Gain: “I aim to unravel my inner leadership style by learning from international figures, gather successful experiences to implement them in her project, maximize her potential, and (perhaps) save the world.”
Mohamed Adalbi! Musab Bin Omair Secondary School - Doha!
Fun Facts: • I spend almost my time talking with myself, my brother looks at me and says "Haha, crazy boy”. • I don't eat until I reach the state of satiety; I eat until the food finishes.
What I Hope to Gain “ It will be the most important experience in my life. I need to improve my English language skills. It will also be the first time to travel abroad alone, so I think that this will make me more responsible in my future life.”
Nadeem Bilal Alabdallah Al Wakra Secondary School - Doha!
Fun Facts: • I’m an amateur magician, and the best part is the peoples reaction when they’re fooled. • I like to read and learn about everything, from philosophy and theology to theoretical physics and psychology, and also novels and biographies of great people.
What I Hope to Gain: “I hope to gain new skills to use in helping myself and others to solve problems that face our society, and I would also like to gain experience in interacting with all the great people that I talk to on YALLAH and exchange experiences with them.”
Priscila Bellini ! Fun Facts: • I have been studying Arabic since 2011 and currently work on projects related to journalism, media activism, culture and gender equality. • Though I am a proud Brazilian, I barely knows how to dance samba.
What I Hope to Gain: “Attending the conference will be an opportunity to find the best practices for the projects I work with and also finding peers who believe in social change.”
Rose Hattab Cholla High School - Arizona!
Fun Facts: •
I aspire to be a doctor to assist people and make a change.
What I Hope to Gain: “The ability to make my ideas into a plan and turn that plan into action. I hope to be able to make a difference in the world, no matter how small the impact.”
Sana Al-Ansari! Raba’a Al-Adawiya Secondary School - Doha!
Fun Facts: •
I am a very sarcastic person.
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I love making films.
What I Hope to Gain: “I hope to develop my communication skills. I want to gain knowledge about different types of issues. I hope to become a better leader that helps her community.”
Soukayna Chouman ! Boston Latin Academy!
Fun Facts: • Outside of school, I participate in a program called BAHEC which stands for Boston Area Health Education Center. I learn about health equity, communication skills, and ways to help disabled children. • In my free time I like to ride my bike, swim, and help others.
What I Hope to Gain: “My goal on this trip is to make friends, learn leadership and communication skills, and have fun.”
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Wai Chum! University of Washington!
Fun Facts: •
I am honored to present a project on refugee awareness, through which I hope to instill a sense of global citizenship and solidarity as I have been instilled.
What I Hope to Gain: “What I look forward to in this NSLC experience is the meeting with new faces and the exchange of new inspirations.”
Erin Nwachukwu! Lindblom Math and Science Academy!
Fun Facts: • •
I love music and singing. I also play piano! I have been to Qatar three times now; two times for Qatar Debate and one time for Translation and Interpreting Institute (TII)
What I Hope to Gain: “I would love to see what sort of ideas have been fostered at previous convenings and how they have grown. This will help give me some assurance that my ideas can take root too!”
Alexa Thornton! Franklin High School!
Fun Facts: • •
I enjoy spending time with family and friends I love horseback riding
What I Hope to Gain: “I hope to acquire new service learning ideas to bring back home and also to meet new people.”
Stephan Marin! Boston Latin Academy!
Fun Facts: • •
I love my Arabic class at my school! I work in Community Building/Environmental Justice at the Neighborhood of Affordable Housing (NOAH) in East Boston
What I Hope to Gain: “I hope to gain further experience in learning service that I can share with my peers in the Youth Crew. I am seriously considering studying something like this in college, so I want to add to my arsenal of experience in the field. I also hope to contribute my prior experience to the workshops.”
Khari Pouncy! International High School of New Orleans!
Fun Facts: •
Music is my passion!
What I Hope to Gain: “I would love to gain knowledge from this conference and bring something I learned back to my project. I would love to give input based on my experience. I believe that this would be a great learning moment”
Israa Salameh! Al Bayan School for Girls!
Fun Facts: • •
I love science. I love volunteering in my community
What I Hope to Gain: “I hope to learn more about service learning and global citizenship.”
Shaikha Ghabeer! Raba’a Al-Adawiya!
Fun Facts: • •
I love to talk and debate with others about their ideas and beliefs I am a problem solver
What I Hope to Gain: “I hope to gain the skills to firstly benefit young people who don’t believe in themselves. Secondly, I would like to benefit young people who have been rejected. Thirdly, I would like to benefit the community that they are living in. Lastly, I would like to benefit the world as a whole.”
Khalid Al-Ishaq! Omar Bin Al-Khattab Preparatory School for Boys!
Fun Facts: • •
I like to watch my favorite team, Real Madrid, play football matches. I play football every time I have the chance to. I also play water polo for Qatar’s national team.
What I Hope to Gain: “I would love to gain knowledge from this conference and bring something I learned back to my project. I would love to give input based on my experience. I believe that this would be a great learning moment”
Washington Latin Public Charter School! Congratulations to the Washington Latin Charter School students selected to join us at NSLC! Emily Hall Rachel Marks Sam Medar Theodore Shoag Emily Mujal Micaela Carrol Juel West
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