When I got inducted into the National Junior Honor Society presidency, I was determined to make a change in my community. I wanted to do more than hand out candy to bus drivers or write letters to teachers. Those are still positive things to do but I wanted our service project to have a broader reach. After riding the high of Lone Peaks National Honor Society's massively successful, Kevin's Carnival (a fundraiser to buy a wheelchair-accessible van for a local middle school student), the rest of the presidency and I wrestled with what could come next. As I researched problems within my community, I was made aware of the large refugee population. The deeper I examined their needs and struggles, the more I knew the importance of having a refugee-focused service project. I found an organization called Lifting Hands International that would send our donation wherever it was needed most. I knew donating through Lifting Hands International would be the best for our goal. Donations would go through a local, trusted organization but affect people as far away as Jordan. Despite only being elected as a Historian, I was able to work as the co-representative for this project due to scheduling conflicts. I spent every advisory period for a month organizing games, activities, and crafts for the "Refugee Gym Day" as well as researching refugees in Jordan to understand the people we were to serve. When the day rolled around, I set up the different events and anxiously awaited for people to start showing up. It ended up being a great success- even surpassing our goal! 

This summer of 2021, I was able to visit Jordan and serve in various refugee centers. Each day I worked, it reminded me of the day I stepped up and decided to fight for a problem as big as civil displacement. My desire to be bold and organize a project such as the "Refugee Gym Day" helps me to remember to fight for a better world, even if it is just one carnival game at a time.