By Rinë Fetahu (YES 2013-2014, Kosovo, hosted by American Councils PO in Baton Rouge, LA)

I always say that YES students on their exchange years are the most positive, energetic, and inspiring people. In March, the Civic Education Week (CEW) in Washington, D.C., gave me the opportunity to be an alumni mentor to 100 YES students from all over the world placed in very different places in the U.S. Every single person I met from this group was simply amazing. Their stories, leadership skills, and passion to change their communities not only inspired me, but also allowed me to see the great things they will be doing as alumni once they finish their YES years.

During my journey, I met people who had a big role in making the workshop one of my most unique experiences. I spent every single day with my two fellow alumni, Aboud (YES ’11, Gaza) and Leah (YES ’10, Kenya), YES Program Manager Megan Lysaght, and Jim Dykstra, an advisor to American Councils. Together we went to Capitol Hill, where we had twenty meetings with U.S. Representatives and Senators, and shared our stories. During these meetings the other two alumni and I spoke about the importance of the YES program, how this program changed our lives, and what we now do for our communities back home. We shared our experiences so often that we began to memorize each other’s speech by heart! The best part was that they became my biggest source of inspiration. Every representative we met had great interest in listening to our stories. Our prepared speeches became long stories and talks about the importance of exchange programs, and everyone we spoke to was very supportive of these programs.

The week continued with our alumni presentations at the State Department and the American Councils office. Engagement was also spread all over the world through a Facebook Live stream of our presentation and through the State Department’s Instagram stories, which we all really enjoyed being a part of.

Just as it began, Civic Education Week ended with a gathering of all the people who made this week possible and fun, with new friendships and students whose stories will be heard again on Capitol Hill!