Me + You = We

A group of CB students and teachers learn how to change the world.

On Wednesday March 26th, a group of 20 Christian Brothers students and teachers embarked upon a journey to learn how to change the world and enhance our communities.

Held across the world in places such as Seattle, London, Toronto, Minnesota, Montreal, Saskatchewan, Vancouver, and Oakland, We Day is an all-day event which brings charitable teens to one place and celebrates the work they have done along with inspiring them to carry on and start to make waves in their respective communities and the world.

In order to better our communities and world, we must address the many issues which linger in our global society such as human trafficking, homelessness, drug abuse, racism, amongst others.

One of the 20 students on the trip was junior Dante Mazza (’15), who believes the experience was wonderful and inspiring. Of the many speakers at the event, one that stood out to Dante was actor Martin Sheen.

“I was very interested in what Mr. Sheen had to say regarding the ‘global village’ concept,” he says.”It’s extremely humbling to realize how fortunate we are as Americans, how much we have, and what a relatively small portion of the world population we make up. It’s completely disproportionate.”

Accompanying Dante on the trip was fellow junior Vince Villegas (’15).

“The thing that I learned and took with me was that when each individual realizes their potential and how they can make an impact in the world, they can achieve anything,” an inspired Vince said. “As a teen in society, there are many opportunities for me to make a change in the world — there are many ways to help such as donating, having a fundraiser, or doing community service hours.”

Joining these young men and women was Christian Morality and Social Justice teacher Ms. Jennifer Lystrup. While on the trip, Ms. Lystrup learned that “there are young people…that recognize different needs of those who are less fortunate and they are clearly and boldly dedicated to working toward alleviating poverty and suffering in their local communities.”

As for myself, I had an amazing time at We Day. Each speaker had something different and original to say and almost every speaker had something that resonated within me. Such as Spencer West, a double amputee who climbed Mt. Kilamanjaro and is an ambassador for Free the Children, a foundation dedicated to getting rid of child labor.

A saying he has carried with him throughout his life has been, “There is no can’t, no won’t, only how.”

Joining Spencer on the We Day stage was a long list of pop icons who each instilled a virtue or attitude within the hearts of those in attendance, whether it be to always be yourself, use what you are passionate about to help others, and how a simple, kind gesture can give hope and happiness to someone.