By Krista Spahillari (YES 2019-2020, Albania, placed by CIEE in Kierney, MO)

When I got back from my exchange year, I wanted to bring home some of the American lifestyle and youthful energy I experienced in the U.S. After participating in Design Thinking for YES, using the Innovator’s Compass, I developed a community project with the goal of engaging young people in the community. With the help of two other YES Alumnae, we created a network of young people who are eager to volunteer in their community. Since January 2021, we have organized monthly community activities tackling issues that our community has had, and sharing American culture.

I have organized many community projects, and my favorite activity to date is the Thanksgiving activity that we had with the Center of Children with Special Needs. One part of their therapy was learning how to cook, so we baked cakes, cookies, and desserts together and then went around the town sharing the sweets with kindergartens, post offices, the municipality, passers-by, and other members of the community. This was an important experience to me because I saw that these children have a unique creativity and way of learning new things, and I will always do my best to include them in my future activities. 

Another activity that has given me great satisfaction was the one-day workshop that I organized for Children’s Day, with about 20 elementary school children participating. After some games, we had a brainstorming activity on the topic, “What would make the children of Permet happier?” Although, I was the one leading the brainstorming activity, the children taught me so much. They started thinking outside the box and treated this activity like it was a game and anything was possible. After discussing, they came to the conclusion that something that would make everyone happy was a new playground that was closer to their houses. I helped them write a letter directed to the municipality addressing their demand, and in this upcoming year, there will be a new playground in town. This was an important experience to me because I saw that the young generations have unique creativity, drive, motivation, and so many ideas. The only thing they need to roam in a world where they are free to think is a small push, and I was beyond happy to be that someone who sparked their great world of imagination. That’s why I am motivated to keep organizing these kinds of activities.

Something else that motivates me to do these projects is the impact that I have had in my community. I am happy to announce that the Youth Council will be part of the Municipal Youth Council of Permet, and we will be able to get more funding and organize more activities.

What further inspires me to do service projects is addressing and trying to fix the issues I have seen in my community. One of the biggest concerns I have is gender inequality. In June 2021, I organized a post-IDEAL Gender Equality Workshop to spread awareness for women’s rights and gender-based violence. Also, this month, collaborating with another student through the Bridging Backgrounds program, we organized a two-day Girls' Empowerment workshop that will be followed up by a five-day activity to increase girls' participation in sports.

I am currently a senior in high school. As a small-town girl, my only way to get connected with the rest of the world was through technology. That’s why the field of computer science has always been fascinating to me. I designed my first game on Scratch when I was 10 years old and now, after participating in a Programming Summer School program (Fizzbuzz), I am building a recipe-based search engine. My mom, who struggles with finding what to cook, was the one who inspired me to build this program. I intend to include lots of Albanian and Balkan recipes, and share them with the rest of the world. I intend to pursue a degree in computer science and, after university, I am very excited to put my ideas that combine my drive for community projects and my love for programming into action.

I would have never achieved all the things I have up until now if it wasn’t for the YES Program and for my exchange year, which has helped me grow as a person and develop my personality. During my exchange year, my goal was to get out of my comfort zone and to try as many new things as possible. Other than participating in different clubs, I was part of the high school wrestling team, and I also joined the track team. I took Broadcasting and Journalism where I did graphics, audio, and camera work during the school sports games, and I also helped with the school news. I wanted to achieve 100 hours of volunteering and I gained a lot of experience from participating in different volunteering activities in the US.

My host family also helped me fit in, try new things, and I have learned a lot from them. They helped me discover the American culture in the best way possible and I will always be grateful for having the opportunity to be part of their wonderful family. My exchange year would never be the same without them. We cooked different American recipes together, and we also cooked my favorite Albanian recipe, Tomato Pie. Other than this, we also did a lot of volunteering activities with the church.

My host family will always hold a very special place in my heart because, without them, I wouldn’t be who I am today. I learned to be positive, confident, diligent, and self-motivated. Most importantly, I learned to always finish what I started and that I am powerful enough to make a change in my community.