This year marks the first year of Freedom Scholars, Elon University’s new program for high schoolers in the Alamance-Burlington school system.
From June 19 to July 2, rising high school seniors in the area are attending classes focused on philosophy, democracy and leadership. The goal of the program is to help the students impact their local communities.
“I really kept it rooted and centered in the local area,” said Prudence Layne, an Elon associate professor of English and director of Freedom Scholars. “Elon already occupies a really important space in the K-12 educational system in the Alamance-Burlington area.”
Layne said that seeing some of her colleagues explain classical texts on philosophy and democracy in a contemporary context inspired her to attempt the same with the program. She said she hopes that students will add some of those values to their personal experiences and try to make change in their communities.
“For one of my mentees, she’s really focusing on making sure that there’s centers for queer youth in their area and thinking about how they can bring an organization to their area that would help to uplift and protect queer youth,” student mentor Christina Stafford said.
The program also looks to aid students financially. The program was free to attend, and after completing the summer program, participants will receive an $800 honorarium to cover any income lost from their household during the two weeks they attended Elon.
“Dr. Layne was really focused on making sure they would be prepared for college, not only mentally and academically, but physically and financially,” Stafford said. “That’s one thing that defines this program against others — it doesn’t focus on just, ‘What do you need to know?’ It focused on, ‘What do you need?’”
After the summer program ends, students will meet with their mentors throughout the school year to help track the progress of their civic engagement projects. At the end of the year, they will be hosting a symposium to present their projects and welcome the next cohort of Freedom Scholars.
The symposium will be completely student organized and hosted. Though the program is only in its inaugural year, it hopes to expand its impact and looks to grow as it moves forward.
“I’m really along for the ride,” Layne said. “I’m open to wherever this path and this commitment takes us.”
Michael Messele was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. A junior at East Mecklenburg High School, he’s been a staff member and editor of the school’s newspaper, The Eagle. While on staff he won awards for editorials he wrote about the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, and the mismanagement of assault cases in local high schools. Alongside his work at The Eagle, he takes photos for the athletic department and films short highlight reels. Outside of school, he’s working on a documentary called “Blind Eye,” which is about sexual assault cases that were mishandled by the administration at Myers Park High School. Michael looks forward to pursuing a career in journalism, so he can continue sharing important and unique stories.
Omar Kayali was born and raised in Edmond, Oklahoma, and now lives with his family in McLean, Virginia. There, he’s a member of his high school’s newsmagazine staff. Following his stints as opinions editor and online editor for the publication, he will serve as editor-in-chief of the magazine’s website for the 2022-2023 academic year. He looks forward to sharing his passion for technology and coding, while also expanding his journalism skills.