Fargo South High School is set to present “Journey to America Narrative Short Stories: Volume 4” Wednesday, Jan. 24, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the NDSU Memorial Union Arikara room.
The event is free and open to the public.
For the project, South High School English students from around the world compose short stories about their personal experiences. They are assisted by English students from NDSU, Concordia College and Minnesota State University Moorhead as they write their stories and prepare for the public reading.
South High School English learner language arts instructor and NDSU alumna Leah Juelke organizes the project.
“I love having the university students in my classroom, working with my students – it is such a wonderful partnership. My students love the help and are thrilled to see that these young adults care about their stories,” said Juelke, who is North Dakota’s Teacher of the Year for 2018. “Collaborating with the universities has been an essential part of our project. The connections made between my students and the university students are such a positive thing for all.”
She notes NDSU professor Kevin Brooks has been sending students to assist for each of the four years the project has been in place.
A total of 16 NDSU students from Brooks’ English 167 class met with their high school counterparts twice during fall semester. They gave support with brainstorming, early draft stories and editing.
“My students aren’t involved long enough to make a huge impact, but they helped the high school students get used to sharing their stories with people outside of their school. They provided a lot of encouragement, and some are able to help strengthen key passages in the narratives,” Brooks said. His goal is to introduce students to the diversity of English studies, and visiting Juelke’s class is a way to see how a classroom looks from a teacher’s perspective.
One of Brooks’ students described the experience as the highlight of the semester. “It was unbelievable to work one-on-one, hand-in-hand and face-to-face with these students as they were fulfilling their American dream,” said sophomore English major Logan Buzick.
To prepare for the project, the NDSU English students read a novel and watched a documentary on immigration. They then learned to be field researchers by writing down observations and taking field notes.
For many of the NDSU students, the experience may lay a foundation for years to come.
“My students are often inspired to be teachers, to volunteer in the community or simply learn more about refugee and immigrant experiences through additional coursework or service learning,” Brooks said.
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