The Global Citizenship Program’s mission states, “Through interdisciplinary academic study, community service and international travel, participants increase their global awareness, heighten their appreciation of diversity, and enlarge their capacity to work and contribute in an increasingly interconnected world.” This mission was accomplished for the GCP graduating class of 2018 at this year’s symposium.

For students involved in GCP, the symposium displays the critical lessons and values that the senior members have taken away from the club in one final closing event. The seniors set up visual presentations of their final projects while club members and parents walk around to learn more about each cultural assignment. At the end of the night the well-deserved certificates are handed out and a short speech is given by the advisors on behalf of their students.

This year’s symposium occured on May 16th in the Hingham High School cafeteria. Each project was presented on a tri-board and most of them offered a tasty global treat. Senior Molly Maravel, who did her project on the “Curry Diaspora,” handed out rice topped with Trader Joe’s curry. Maravel shares, “ I went on a trip to London, where we made Indian food as one of the activities. We were told as we were cooking, that London had the best curry, and I thought that was so strange because I assumed India had the best curry. So, from there I was inspired to track how curry evolved from its creation and how it had adapted itself to exist in different environments.”

Many people lined up for a taste of Molly’s Thai curry with spicy vegetables. She told each person who stopped at her booth the importance of her project and what it meant to her. Maravel explains that she is enormously grateful for the impact the project had on her because, “ I learned how the availability of some resources in certain countries effects how they make food. For example, if there is an abundance of spices in an area the food from that place will be more spicy as a result. It was an incredibly interesting topic and I learned a lot.” All the seniors at the GCP symposium seemed to share Molly’s attitude towards their projects. Everyone there was so grateful for the opportunities the club gave them to expand their global horizons.

Member of the executive board of GCP and senior, Margeaux Fortin’s project resulted from years of work. She and her sister saved money through babysitting jobs, designed patterns, and made clothing samples using their fashion expertise, then traveled to Ghana. In the month that they spent there they hired twelve women and paid them American wages (which is about five times the usual pay in Ghana) and had them create their envisomned fashion designs using fabric that was bought from local stores. Fortin claimed her project was important because, “It gave me a unique experience while also uplifting women from Ghana.”

It was evident from the symposium that all seniors, like Molly and Margeaux, were positively impacted by their time in GCP and by their creative final projects. Head advisor of GCP, Ms. Pound shared, “Everyone’s posters and projects look fantastic. All the seniors did a wonderful job and I am so impressed with everybody.” It was truly a wonderful display of the student’s newfound cultural awareness.

Ms. Pound also believes that, “ it is so important to see the snippets of other cultures and to understand different viewpoints, and different perspectives from around the world. I think the level of expertise that these guys [the students] now have in culturally diverse areas is just so impressive and it makes them better and more empathetic people.”

The goal of GCP is to make the students of Hingham High into globally aware citizens because as Ms. Pound explained, awareness of other cultures allows students to become more “empathetic” in their everyday lives. The symposium that occured on May 16th was a perfect embodiment of that goal.