“You can solve the water quality problem, but if you can’t solve the water access problem, then what does it mean for those people?”

–Liv Evans

Name: Liv Evans
Hometown: Downington, PA
Education: Tulane University
Passions and Interests: Reading, writing, club softball and intramural soccer. Philadelphia sports fan (as she says, “despite their luck”)
Transformational Experience: Guatemala: Children of the Maya™ and Dominican Republic: Building a Sustainable World™
Making an Impact: Raised $7,500 through the help of her high school student council for a water filter project and provided 169 filters to Dominican families

When Liv Evans was elected to serve as co-president of her student council back in high school, she didn’t take the ordinary course most people think of when it comes to student council initiatives. Through committed efforts at building awareness through her school’s homecoming and powderpuff football events, which were attended by over half the student population, and by petitioning her student council to act, she was able to raise nearly $7,500 for a project close to her heart: providing water filters to families in-need in the Dominican Republic.

After attending Global Leadership Adventures’ Building a Sustainable World™ program in the Dominican Republic, Liv has been driven to provide access to clean water to those without.

After my DR program, I started seeing the relevance of human security issues to all of my school subjects, and I found myself looking at the world through this new lens. Because of GLA, I have a burning passion for public health and development.”

Liv began her journey before the Dominican Republic by attending GLA’s Children of the Maya™ program in Guatemala back in 2013. At the time, she didn’t know what her real motivation was to attend the program beyond the desire to gain a broader perspective of the world. As she recalls though, it was GLA staff member Jesse Barber on her Guatemala program that said to her something that inspired her to continue traveling and doing service work beyond one program:

It’s amazing, really. When you’re at home all the people you know put you into this little box. They expect you to be and act a certain way. When you travel by yourself, though, you can break out of that box. You can choose the things you want to keep about yourself and the things you want to change to become the person you want to be. If you’re lucky, you get to take some of that new person home with you.”

This prompted Liv to return with Global Leadership Adventures the following summer, where she had the opportunity to spend weeks learning about the seven elements of human security, as taught by 7 Elements founder and GLA local director, Dr. Dave Addison. She says “7 Elements really practices what it preaches,” and from everything Liv’s accomplished, she’s done the same.

Following her first of several trips to the Dominican Republic, Liv raised the funds to provide 169 families with new water filters. She used a needs analysis to determine what could be done, and attributes “the strength of the intervention” through water filter distribution to what she says is the families’ willingness to help themselves.

And giving back to those in need of support has given back Liv much in return, even if that wasn’t her goal or expectation. She received a scholarship providing full college tuition from Tulane University, where she now attends, based on a video project about her experience with GLA in the Dominican Republic. She hopes to work in the field of global health with a special focus on water quality, clean water access, and/or infectious disease control.

On her reason for continuing to pursue widespread, effective change, Liv demonstrates that setting out to try is the most important part:

I seek to understand an unexplainable world and take on problems that are perhaps unsolvable, but I would lose my sense of humanity if I didn’t try. It is to be passionate, to stand for something greater than yourself, to gain undying empathy for humankind, that you have truly lived.”

Liv is currently attending Tulane University in New Orleans, LA, where she is involved in its Public Health Society and ONE, a foreign aid advocacy group.

Programs Liv attended:

GLA Guatemala: Children of the Maya™ & Dominican Republic: Building a Sustainable World™

Curious about exploring your own GLA adventure? Check these out:

• GLA Guatemala: Children of the Maya™
• GLA Dominican Republic: Building a Sustainable World™
• GLA Dominican Republic: Global Health Initiative™

“My GLA trip completely changed the course of my life.”

[Read more…]

When you want to pick up a new book, the decisions that go through your mind probably are limited to do you want to read your book on your Kindle or in paperback or which book on the summer reading list looks like the shortest option. However, have you ever wondered how you would make that choice if you didn’t have access to any books at all?

When Ryan Trainer, started volunteering at his local library in Redwood City, all he originally thought about was reading to children for a Boy Scout merit badge. Yet as his reading sessions went on, he quickly understood that ”one of the things that really makes a tremendous difference in developing early reading skills…is the presence of books in the home” Ryan recently told Good Morning America. Thus at the ripe young age of 11, Ryan began to organize book drives to help increase young student’s access to reading materials. Over the course of 6 months, Ryan’s efforts led to the donation of 25,000 books that were shipped out to 12 charities, 8 schools, and 7 literacy programs.

Though 25,000 books would be a great success for anyone, Ryan decided he wanted to do more and recruited more teens to help gather more resources in the fight to improve literacy rates in his local community. Now, not only has Ryan’s efforts led to the creation of new chapters of his youth literacy council, but young students now also benefit from math, science and financial literacy classes.

In the end, Ryan just wants to remind everyone that in order to make a difference “it really only takes one person. The Truth”.

If you want to learn more about Ryan’s accomplishment, check out his Good Morning America profile here.

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Contributed by Matt Zonis

Conner Stroud is not your average tennis player. The 15-year-old athlete from North Carolina has proximal femoral focal deficiency, or PFFD. People impacted by this rare condition are born without legs.

In spite of his disability, Conner has defied all odds by becoming one of the best junior wheelchair tennis players in the world. His wheelchair is fully-equipped with a built-in security strap for himself, a back pocket for holding his racquet, and spokes for storing tennis balls.

Conner is currently the top-ranked junior wheelchair tennis player here in the U.S. He’s even played in several tournaments overseas. At home, the successful sophomore is a starter for his high school tennis team. Although he’s confined to his wheelchair, Conner still has the courage to compete against able-bodied players. Last season, he even held the No. 3 rank on his team.

Even though he loses many of these school matches, Conner’s positive attitude and competitive spirit keep his passion alive for the sport. He’s still a reigning champ in the world of wheelchair tennis. His perseverance and remarkable hand-eye coordination have enabled him to accomplish extraordinary feats in the game.

This summer, Conner was just one of three teens chosen to represent the U.S. in the biggest junior wheelchair tennis team competition in the world: The World Team Cup. Throughout the event, he participated in six games, which were all held in Turkey. Conner won five of these matches.

Aside from wheelchair tennis, Conner spent several years competing against able-bodied players. He would show up to these matches on rubber stoppers, which he attached to the stumps of his legs. Nevertheless, Conner still managed to beat a few of his opponents.

His tremendous talents have even been recognized by tennis legends. In 2013, Conner got a chance to practice with some of the best players in the sport, including Andy Roddick and Jim Courier. He even got to meet with his favorite player, Rafael Nadal.

After meeting with Conner, Nadal made the following statement to reporters: “He’s playing tennis. That’s a great example that you can be happy even if life doesn’t give you everything. It’s a big example for me and should be a big example for a lot of people.”

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Contributed by Nedda Grady

Hunger Games actress Amandla Stenberg, who played the character Rue in 2012’s first installment of the franchise, has received mass acclaim for a video she made in her history class titled, “Don’t Cash Crop on My Cornrows.” Throughout the video, the precocious 16-year-old discusses the issue of cultural appropriation, speaking out about its impact in the media and other aspects of our society.

Stenberg begins the video with a discussion of black hair, and how styles like cornrows and braids are intrinsic to black culture—specifically as a way of keeping black textured hair unknotted and neat. She continues to remark upon the inflating popularity of “clothes and accessories associated with hip-hop” among white celebrities as well as in the fashion industry that have lead to offensive stereotypes, further oppressing an entire subset of people.

“That itself is what is so complicated when it comes to black culture,” Stenberg states in her video. “I mean, the line between cultural appropriation and cultural exchange is always going to be blurred. But here’s the thing: Appropriation occurs when a style leads to racist generalizations or stereotypes where it originated but is deemed as high-fashion, cool, or funny when the privileged take it for themselves.” In her closing statement, Stenberg quotes a question which had been proliferating social media for several months: “What would America be like if we loved black people as much as we love black culture?”

When Stenberg’s video went viral, her message was amplified. Her discussion of the issues associated with appropriation black culture was given widespread attention—an indication that people are beginning to listen. Amandla has helped spur important conversation on the subject of race and why we should respect another’s culture. Stenberg has become an influential role model for youth and adults alike—for anyone who wish to treat race and culture with the respect it deserves.

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Contributed by Sophie Emigh