“My name is Allison Marcell Palacios and I am from El Salvador. I had the most wonderful experience being part of Amity in 2016-2017.
I would like to share some things I learned, and that I can assure that changed my life forever. I learned:
- how big and beautiful the world is, and that languages don’t have to be a barrier.
- to open my mind and understand that there are better, new ways to teach and learn. To learn what I was doing wrong, and begin to do it right.
- that there are many people in other countries that are agents of change too and when we join together, we can do something wonderful and powerful. We are part of something bigger than ourselves. We can always be better, and our community can create change. Community is not just living in the same place or area, but about truly working together to succeed
- how to be a better teacher and understand my students needs, and how to handle all sorts of teaching situations.
- the importance of giving to the generations that follow ours, and how important the opportunity to learn is, no matter differences and limitations.
- that self motivation is a key to success, both inside and out of the classroom.
- that I need to fight in order to achieve my goals
- that hopelessness, laziness and defeatism is not a chose; we need to persevere in order to keep going and develop ourselves to our greatest potential.
We can’t keep the light that we have in our lives only for ourselves, we should share our light with others and help them on their path to a bright future. My Amity experience showed me that now is the time to give back to my community, I cannot wait to share what I have learned, and all the hope I acquired during my time in the USA.
AMITY MEANS TO ME: opportunity, hope, learning, growth, maturity, culture, love and hard work.
I gained a new and wonderful family, great friends from around the world, a new culture and a new perspective of life. Amity is a great chance to learn, grow up and change the world starting with our own community. If I had the chance, I would do it again and recommend the experience to everyone!
Thank you, Amity!”
