Over the past two months I have had the privilege to work with SVP and its Education Affinity Group. During this time I have learned of the extreme need for change in our schools. While attending an Education Affinity Group meeting last week, I became aware of this dire need for our communities and law makers to take action before more children in our schools miss powerful and life changing opportunities. I was shocked at how little I knew about the problems our schools and educators face each day and felt an immediate drive to become an advocate for Arizona’s students. Why was I able to go through this same system and know nothing about the struggles and short comings of our community schools? Partly because I was lucky enough to have people in my life that helped guide me and show me that I could succeed with the right tools and attitude. But what about those children who don’t have someone at home who is there to push them to their limits? What about the kids who lack the knowledge or tools to discover the potential that lies within them? What of the kids who know there is an opportunity knocking at their door but simply don’t know how to unlock it?
Education is more than learning numbers, where to put a comma or question mark. Education is about matching people with their passions and letting their talents do the rest. When looking back on the years that I spent working hard to accomplish my academic goals, it was the passionate people that I remember who gave me the keys to see and unlock my full potential. Let’s make a stand for the children who might be our future doctors, lawyers and firefighters. Let’s remind the community that our schools thrive when they partner with their community. Let’s remind them that test scores will change on their own when the desire to succeed is instilled in our students and their potential is realized by the people with passion who choose to invest in their community.
-Isaac Domingue, ASU Student, PT Communications Assoc. SVP