Stories From the Field
World Affairs Challenge™ – "The whole experience was something that will follow me for the rest of my life."
The 7th Annual World Affairs Challenge took place on Saturday, March 14, at San Francisco State University. In attendance were 450 youths, a record breaking 210 volunteers, and hundreds of additional parents and guests there to support the students.
Teams created 15-minute presentations on subtopics of the overall theme of "Human Migration." Topics included Brain Drain, Human Trafficking and Visa Distribution, among others. Students learned content knowledge while practicing presentation skills and strategies they will use throughout their lives. Read about the Challenge in the Contra Costa Times
Volunteers judge the events thoughout the day and are a crucial component to the event. As an Intrax volunteer said, "I am really glad that I was able to participate in this wonderful volunteer opportunity. From the moment I arrived at the event, the energy of the students was contagious. It was so awesome to see how much effort all these students had put into the research of their topics. It was so inspiring to be a witness to the incredible things that young people took away from an experience like this – the information that they presented definitely made me think of some things that I hadn't considered before. Definitely, one of the coolest things about WAC is that, right before your very eyes, you are watching middle and high schoolers transform into truly global citizens, with opinions, and ideas and most importantly, solutions on how to change things to make a better world for everyone. I am so happy that I got a chance to be a part of such an inspiring and passionate day of education and change!"
For students, having adult community members judge their work is an amazing opportunity that affirms the value of their opinions and their critical thinking. Students shared their most postive experiences from the day:
"I got a lot of good feedback about my presentation. It boosted my self esteem."
My most positive experience was presenting in front of the judges.
"I enjoyed doing the formal presentation. It was fun answering questions from the judges. I liked performing our topic to everyone and creating the script."