On March 1, Fulbright ETA Riley Heist held the local WORDS competition at her school. During the past month and a half, Riley watched her students work extremely hard, creating passionate stories about the future of their country. Despite the busy hours, Riley really enjoyed working one-on-one with the fifteen students that joined the competition. Throughout the process, Riley found that she was able to get to know her students more personally.
Due to the extensive work that every student put into their story, Riley felt anxious leading up to the competition, knowing that despite all of the hard work, there would only be one winner. While the students waited for the results from the judges, Riley was reminded that the students knew there was more to a competition than just winning as she watched the contestants, the audience, and the judges all come together and dance like crazy to pass the time.
Following the dancing, Riley climbed to the stage, still dreading announcing the winners. She needed her students to know how proud she was of them and that they had all improved dramatically. Before she announced the winner, she explained this to the students and finally, she asked them to repeat after her. “I am smart. I am talented. I am powerful. And together, we can change the world.” Hearing her students say this with so much energy, Riley truly believed that it really would be her students that would change the future of Indonesia.
Riley Heist is currently teaching at SMAN 10 Samarinda, East Kalimantan
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