‘I Am Proud to Be Colorful’

‘I Am Proud to Be Colorful’

Nora Ngo Mitchell, a freshman from Booker High School in Sarasota, Florida, wrote the fourth-place essay for the 2020 Ripley Hunter “World Is a Classroom” essay contest. Mornings in Ho Chi Minh City are vibrant and reflective of the rich and diverse culture that...
Missing Out On Memories

Missing Out On Memories

Abigail Hamman, a senior from Murray County Central High School, wrote this first-place essay for the SYTA Class of 2020 essay contest. What was a favorite memory of your high school senior year? The answer to this question for many is probably their senior class...
Students Speak: Travel and Music Bring Us Together

Students Speak: Travel and Music Bring Us Together

Music exists because there are things that words cannot describe, nor express. Nothing I write on this page will make the reader feel what it’s like to stand in a choir, a single voice among many, locked into the harmonies. Nothing I write can replicate the...
Students Speak: Have the Difficult Conversations

Students Speak: Have the Difficult Conversations

Ashley Lin, from Union High School in Camas, Washington, wrote this second-place essay for the 2020 Ripley Hunter “World Is a Classroom” essay contest. I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to serve as a U.S. Youth Ambassador to Uruguay. Youth Ambassadors spent a...
It Started as an Idea.

It Started as an Idea.

It started as an idea. Just a simple thought thrown out. It wasn’t a notion that crossed everyone’s mind, but I came to be more than glad it crossed mine. What started as a flash quickly spiraled into an experience that forever shaped my life. It is over...