I want to see that every student feels empowered and has agency and that they’re able to speak and that they’re able to raise their ideas and they’re able to feel safe and comfortable, and they feel like they belong in class. And I think all of those factors contribute to who you become as a person.

So I think that, you know, these school environments really contribute to your outlook on life and what you grow up to become. I want to see that every student is empowered to be the best they can be and they can shoot for the stars. My mom has like told me from a really young age that you define yourself worth and that you need to make sure that you know how good you are, right. You need to be comfortable in your own skin. I need to be comfortable in my brown skin. And I think it’s like stuff like that to make sure that students feel empowered in their identity, but then once they do, I think that’s step one. Right?

And then step two is making sure that students can really feel that they can make the change they want to see, which is sometimes lacking in schools. Cause I think sometimes there can be a reluctance to make change. And I think that’s where the lack of student empowerment comes from is that a school doesn’t want to change it to establish policies, which is a problem. So I think student empowerment is making sure students are comfortable with who they are. It can show, they can take initiative and supporting them as they can.