Students and Steel Pans


     During our time at Success Laventile Secondary School (SLSS) we were given the chance to work directly with students, ages ranging from 12-17. Through hands on activities, we had thorough discussion about recycling and it's importance. The students were all very receptive and engaged, many of them excited to share their insights and experiences. It was a very rewarding experience to have conversations with the students and learn more about their lives and passion for learning and being successful. Many of them have aspirations of going into medicine or engineering. As extremely bright students attending a school in a gang infested neighborhood, they had fabulous attitudes and outlooks on life. Their eyes were bright and their smiles wide; it seemed as though no obstacle could stand in their way--a very refreshing perspective to see a young person have. 






      Before we left, several young boys who play the steel plan drums were eager to share their skills with us. Anxious with anticipation, we crowded into a room to get a first hand view of the core of the Trinidadian culture. Within seconds, my arms were covered in goosebumps and my eyes filled with happy tears as the unique and unmistakeable fantasy-like rhythm of the steel pan drums filled the small, humid space. Immediately I was filled with thoughts of how very blessed I am and how talented these young men were. All I wanted in that moment was for them to succeed in whatever their dreams are, because they were so full of life and confidence behind the pans. 


 





     Because of our time spent in the SLSS, I would love to come back a second time, spending significant time in the primary and secondary schools, giving the students exposure to international citizens, as well as sharing our encouragement to them that they have the potential to do big things. This reignited my fire to work with Junior Achievement and go into the schools in Louisville to work with the students.


Lindsay Peters
 
-University of Louisville International Service Learning Program

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