Penn Hills Pride

This past summer, 16 students and adults from Urban Youth Action, Inc. (UYA), and The Pittsburgh Project traveled to Beijing, China, to participate in UYA's International Education Project. On September 8th, the students discussed their experience via presentations and Q&A focusing on global career exploration, cultural immersion, and service projects at The Pittsburgh Project Sanctuary on the Northside. The students worked in teams to provide PowerPoint presentations on different businesses or aspects of Chinese culture.

Penn Hills Senior High School 10th Grader Morgan Burton was one of ten students from Allegheny County to make the trip. As a student involved in her school, she served as the 9th Grade yearbook photographer last year and plans to participate on the yearbook committee again this year. She is a member of French Club and would also like to join Future Business Leaders of America and the stage crew. Outside of school, she participates in UYA and also volunteers for community service projects through the organization. She has been a UYA student for 2 years and has participated in its rising 9th Grade summer program and career exploration and tutoring programs during the school year.

To prepare for the trip, students participated in approximately 20 weeks of team-building exercises, Chinese language and culture classes, and visits to local businesses that have offices and/or factories in China. While in China, the team visited some of these company's sites in order to compare and contrast workplace environments, opportunities, and experiences as part of the Global Workforce Initiative. The students also enjoyed historical sites such as The Great Wall, Forbidden City, and Summer Palace and had the opportunity to visit the rural and less populated countryside of China.

According to Trip Leader and Program Manager for UYA Benjamin Walker, the purpose of the program is to "bank experiences to be used later in life." Dr. Eliada Nwosu of the University of Pittsburgh Cross Cultural and Leadership Development Center took that idea a step further by explaining that the program was "culturing transformative leaders," adding that students were being taught to "embrace the differences and harness the similarities." Now, she went on to say, their job was to inspire others.

The ten students who gave their presentations that night certainly did inspire the audience. Morgan's presentation was on the Morrison Forester Law Firm, how the organization got started and an overview of the work it does. In addition, she reported on a community service project she did picking apricots and garlic and making soap from used oil collected from within the community. These products were then sold by the people on the farm that she visited.

Morgan heard about the travel program through her participation in UYA. This was the second year the trip was offered to their students. She said she wanted to go because she likes to travel and because China is one of the leading manufacturing countries in the world. She said she was also interested in the Chinese culture.

High points of the trip included climbing (or trying to climb) the Great Wall of China and visiting the Forbidden City and Summer Palace. "Just being able to visit China at such a young age was exciting," Morgan said.

The audience highly enjoyed the students' descriptions of their attempts to climb the Great Wall, the very large bugs that they found there, the unfamiliar experience of picking apricots and garlic (including ruining clothes and how hot the sun was), and eating strange and exotic foods.

For Morgan, it was all a tremendous educational experience. "I learned a lot about the Chinese culture by visiting the country," she explained. "I learned how hard it is for some people to live there because they don't have all of the resources we have in the U.S. I also learned that their government has a lot of control over their lifestyles," she added.

At the presentation, each student was given a certificate recognizing his/her unique personality characteristics that allowed the group to work so well together. Morgan was recognized for stretching herself beyond her comfort zone and for being so pleasant, good natured, and agreeable. UYA Staff Member Karen Dreyer told the students "you will remember the hurdles you faced in China when you go through life and face other hurdles."

Penn Hills Senior High School Principal Darcie Gatti attended the presentation and found it to be something worthwhile for her students. "I think that the program is a wonderful opportunity for students to experience other cultures," she said, adding that she was "thrilled that one of our students was able to participate."

The experience encouraged Morgan to want to travel to other countries and return to China one day as well. "I'm very thankful that I had a chance to go on this trip," she said, adding, "It was a great experience."