Posted on Aug 09, 2017
Rotary Club of New Berlin, New Berlin Rotary, World Affairs SeminarNew Berlin student discovers herself at World Affairs Seminar
 
We met another World Affairs Seminar student-delegate during our meeting on Aug. 9. (Three others visited on July 26. Their experiences are recapped in the article below.) Jordan M., pictured here with club president Pat McLaughlin, began by thanking those responsible for selecting her.
 
This year's theme was Education and Social Justice, which was quite appropriate for Jordan. "I'm really into social justice," she said, noting that many other student-delegates shared her passion.
 
World Affairs Seminar was held at Carroll University in Waukesha, Wis., June 24-30. A senior at New Berlin Eisenhower,  Jordan said the experience prepared her for leaving school. Though she lives just minutes away, she, like all other student-delegates, was housed in a campus dorm. The program "gave me a taste of being on my own."
 
"It really put me out of my comfort zone," Jordan said. In so doing, "you learn the most and have the most fun."
 
Discussions helped her understand how to converse with someone holding a different viewpoint. Previously, she might "stick to my guns" on her viewpoint. "I learned that it's more important to have a dialogue and back and forth, " she said. "Not just stating an opinion." She enjoyed talking with others and in being heard.
 
Student-delegates came from a variety of economic backgrounds. Jordan now realizes that it's important to keep the other person's background in mind when evaluating their position.

Each day consisted of several main presentations followed by group discussions. She was "floored" by some of the information presented during the week. They learned about residential schools in Canada ("a very sensitive topic") and about climate change. "I didn't know that was a social justice topic," Jordan said.
 
Of the program itself, "I Learned a great deal about education and social justice, and a lot about myself."
 
Asked about some of the students she met, Jordan rattled off the names of a boy from Cincinnati and another from Trinidad; she also met several students from Canada. Her roommate was from Paris. Having visited France, "I could relate to her," Jordan said.
 
Calling the WAS scholarship "a real blessing," Jordan encourages students to apply for next year's World Affairs Seminar. Filling out the scholarship application, which involved writing an essay, was "an hour well spent."
 
WAS is open to students of New Berlin West and New Berlin Eisenhower. If your child is interested in applying for the 2018 session, have him or her speak with the school's guidance counselor.