GYV: A truly life-changing experience for Georgi

Name: Georgi Vogel Rosen

Nationality: American

GYV Staff/Participant during: P’92 – ’96

Education: Bachelor’s degree from Smith College in Sociology with a concentration in Third World Development Studies and a master’s from the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management

Occupation: Assistant Director of Program Evaluation at a nonprofit serving at-risk youth and families

Most Interesting Country Visited: Czech Republic (it’s where my grandfather was born)

Favorite GYV Memory: If you had asked me 15 years ago, I probably would have said the Dine (Navajo) giving ceremony or the Tajik/Uzbek cultural night where we all learned Central Asian dances. But in retrospect, my favorite memory of GYV is a set of three experiences in the summer of 1995 that had an extraordinary impact on me and continue to affect me to this day. First, a group of campers participated in a panel discussion in which they candidly described their experiences fleeing war or persecution. Hearing these terrifying stories told by those whom I considered close friends shook me deeply. I still remember my horror and the awe I felt for my friends’ resilience and courage. Later in the summer, my Global Issues and Leadership group set up a “hunger banquet” at lunchtime in which we randomly divided the participants and staff into three groups, corresponding with then-current statistics on world hunger. The smallest group received a large, indulgent meal. A slightly larger group had a very simple, bland meal, while the majority was given just a small bowl of rice. We intended to simulate the international disparity in consumption and poverty. Everything seemed very abstract when we were setting up the event: hunger had never been an issue for me. It was just a topic I had seen on the news or a cause we would donate a can of soup to around Thanksgiving. It never occurred to me that I would know someone for whom hunger had been a reality. Once we started the banquet though, it was very clear that for some of us, hunger was not an abstract concern but rather a memory from childhood. As with the refugee panel, I was very deeply moved by many of my friends’ comments, and I left wanting to do something to help. The next week or so, the Global Issues and Leadership group went on a field trip to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in DC, and we met with a staffer who told us about the UN’s efforts to help refugees. She told me that there were refugee resettlement agencies around the world and gave me the contact info for one in my community. I ended up volunteering there for years and later returned to work as a case manager. Those three experiences at GYV had such a fundamental impact on me that it’s hard to believe they happened over a period of just a few weeks.

Volunteer/Civic Engagement since Global Youth Village: Right now I am very active in efforts to strengthen Jewish-Muslim relations and counter the rise in Islamophobia in the United States. I also volunteer at two local civil rights organizations that work to combat housing discrimination and promote LGBT equality, and I volunteer with another project that helps reconnect Boston area refugees with loved ones from whom they were separated during war or genocide. I also serve on the steering committee of a group that matches young adult volunteers with non-profit organizations around Boston.

Biography: I grew up in Providence, Rhode Island in the United States with my mother and several pets. Ever since I was a little kid, I adored animals, and that passion led me to become a vegetarian when I was eight years old. A few years later, I came across a book called “Kids Can Save the Animals,” which referenced two vegetarian summer camps in North America: one was an outdoors camp that offered sailing, canoeing, kayaking and rock climbing lessons, and the other was a small camp in Virginia and had something to do with multiculturalism and leadership development. I didn’t really know what either of those things meant, but the camp had neither boats nor meat, and that was good enough for me. And that’s how I ended up at the Legacy International summer program, now known as the Global Youth Village. Few people can say that their summer camp shaped their adult lives, but GYV inspired interests and passions that I never could have conceived before arriving in 1992. Since GYV, I have traveled to several amazing countries, including Kenya, India, Costa Rica, the Philippines and most recently Ukraine, and volunteering on human and civil rights issues has been a huge part of my life. I now live in Brookline, Massachusetts, with my dog (Ralphie) and cat (Maggie), and I work at a wonderful non-profit that serves some of the most at-risk kids and families in the state.

GYV alumni circle the globe

Since 1979 we have over 4,000 people from over 100 countries that have joined the GYV family.  They are leaving LEGACIES of peace, tolerance and justice around the globe.

Please update your address. 

Follow us on Facebook.

Keep in touch with each other. Share the GYV experience and the impact it had in your life. Help a young upcoming leader to participate in this summer’s Global Youth Village.

Inspired by Nature in Chicago

Dennis educates youth with a story

Jay Shefsky S’ 85-’86 and Dennis Paige S’85-86 were both staff members at Global Youth Village international summer program over twenty years ago. Jay is now  a television producer with WTTW Chicago. Dennis is a naturalist and a story teller .  Together, these two alums produced an entertaining TV program on Dennis’ efforts to create one of the most extensive native plant gardens at housing complex  near Chicago.  Check it out at http://video.wttw.com/video/2098389914/.

Heading to Medical School in Vancouver!

Ayumi gets goofy

Ayumi Yatsuhashi S’10

wrote to let us know that she has been accepted to and will be attending Boucher Institute of Natuopathic Medicine in Vancouver!  She is very excited about becoming a doctor who can be a good listener and help people feel better.  She is grateful for her GYV experience and looks forward to visiting someday. Best of luck, Ayumi!

An Interview with Charles

What was it like to be back at Legacy/GYV after 25 years?

Gosh, it was like coming home. It was like being a prodigal son.  I loved being there. J.E. Rash is like a brother to me so I was with family.  And I got to see Laura Symons and many other friends whom I had worked with all those years ago.  I have asked to come back next year.  Being at Legacy feeds me in so many ways.  The energy of the youth is contagious.

How was your workshop?  What was your favorite part?

I loved how open, respectful and cooperative the young people were.  There were a few who thought they had to be cool at first, but that didn’t last long.   At the end, we were all best friends and we loved them all.  It was really a glorious experience.  I wish I could have been there longer.  I got to be with people that I love and I was in tears when I left.  We created an even deeper bond.

What was it like to teach songs about the Freedom Riders to an international group that really didn’t know anything about the Civil Rights Movement?

Actually, that was the best part.  It was fantastic to hear the young people from all over the world embracing another culture…embracing our culture. Lorraine Warren (Peace Building instructor) called me after I left and told me that I haven’t really left because the young people were walking around singing the songs I had taught them.  That was wonderful to hear.

It’s been a long time since you’ve been back. What has changed at Legacy and what has stayed the same?

The spirit is still the same.  The people are still the same, but Legacy has grown…and it has turned into a really slick organization.  There is a tremendous sense of professionalism and everyone delivers without losing heart.

What have you been involved during the past two decades?

Well, I’ve been teaching at two different camps during the summer and at the Levine School of Music during the school year.  I went on a State Department Tour to the Middle East and did a lot of spoken word and percussion.  I also direct a senior chorus in northeast D.C. and we perform our program at festivals.  I’ve sung at the Paris Opera.  Soon, I will be involved in a production of Einstein at the Beach, an opera by Philip Glass.  I will be playing the role of Mr. Johnson. We will be touring all over Canada and the U.S.

****

To read  more about what Charles’s has been up to, check out Charles’ bio.

Sarah Blume P’09 to Study Arabic in Jordan

Sarah Blume, P’09,  is looking forward to studying Arabic in Amman, Jordan this summer as part of the National Security Languages Initiative (NSLI) program. Sarah was introduced to introductory Arabic and Middle Eastern culture at the Global Youth Village and thus inspired to apply for this prestigious program. Read more about her upcoming adventure.

« Previous Page — Next Page »