Georgia McClain from the U.S. – a second-year student from Williams College working as an intern for PH International shared her experience after the meeting with students of Tbilisi schools.
On January 21st, 2020, I went to Tbilisi Youth House to meet some high school students. First, I told the students about my life, including my past experience in high school and my current life in college, as well as my experience in Georgia.
Then, there was an opportunity for the students to ask me questions. The students were very inquisitive, and our conversation lasted for over an hour.
The students questions were extremely varied. Some students were curious to know about my opinions about Georgia and Georgian people. Others wanted to know about my daily life, including details about my experience at an American high school and my favorite things to do. I was very surprised, however, by the amount of politically-oriented questions. Many students wanted to know my opinions and thoughts on President Trump, the 2020 presidential election, and the American government. I was asked about my favorite politicians and activists. I was asked questions like, “Is America really free? and “Do you think that America is a conqueror? These questions were complicated and challenging for me to answer, but I was struck by how thoughtfully these students had considered America and its relationship to their own country and the rest of the world.I also asked the students to talk to me about which civics projects they were most proud of. Instantly, about a dozen hands went up: students were very eager to share their projects with me.
They proudly told me about their projects, which addressed topics such as bullying, womens rights, and the environment. They were surprised to learn that I did not have a civics class (or even a government class) in high school. I told the students that I wish that I had had the civic education that they are being given, and how valuable it is to learn how to communicate and work with local government. I also told them that they should be very proud of the impactful changes they had made to the community through their projects. Overall, I think that the experience was very enlightening, both for the students and for myself. I found their passion and thoughtfulness very inspiring, and I am very glad that PH International is helping them to be such active citizens.
