Leah is an 11th grade student at Groton school in Massachusetts. Her main fields of interest are legal studies, math, and journalism and this summer, she joined our team to conduct a project that incorporated all three.
Reconnecting with my Roots
When I entered the Trust for Social Achievement’s office on the first day, I looked around at a medley of unfamiliar faces; and yet, when I left that same space just six weeks later my heart was heavy with gratitude for all of those faces who were now colleagues and friends.
Having spent my entire childhood in Sofia prior to moving to the States, I knew that I wanted to be involved in something this summer which enabled me to invest my energy in the community and culture that raised me. Considering my nationality is Bulgarian-American, I have often struggled compensating for both starkly different components of my identity, and figuring out how to weave both into my life. TSA, which blends both Bulgarian and English and emphasizes intercultural communication checked all of my boxes. Back when I was just a kid in Sofia, I was aware of the social inequalities of my country because I saw them firsthand, but it only really hit me later on: that children my age, who also called Bulgaria their home, were being denied the right to own property and had limited access to social services or education.
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My Pathway to Personal Growth: Embracing Mistakes and Unfamiliarity
My intention this summer was to conduct a research project, in affiliation with my high school back home, to investigate the persistent poverty of Roma communities in Bulgaria through the lens of property ownership, or the lack thereof. I made incredible progress on my academic goals and yet some of the most important lessons were far from what I expected to take away.
The very first week I spent with TSA, we visited a Roma community just outside of Kazanluk town where our central goal was to communicate with and get to know as many people as we could. The very unstructured, and casual meetings that occurred were what really made an impression on me. As we entered the community, I was immediately met with the brightest smiles from the children around me. I spent lots of time asking them about their school, aspirations for life, favorite hobbies, and even got introduced to many of their pets. They took me to see the pool they all use in the summertime and the pure joy radiating from all of them as they jumped in the water is a sight I will never forget. The visit, at the very start of my stay in Bulgaria, is what reinforced my passion for the research I was conducting and imbedded a feeling of commitment to these kids.
Over the course of my six weeks, I was able to engage in various events organised by TSA, weekly staff meetings and work on my own project with the unyielding support and assistance provided by the team. My Bulgarian skills were truly put to the test when I began conducting my own interviews of various Roma residents in Plovdiv, and policy makers in the municipality but I got to connect with people and hear distinct perspectives like never before. Through its seamless organization and efficiency, TSA aided me in all of my endeavors and by working under their wing I gained some priceless lessons. Prior to my involvement with TSA, I had never truly understood just how diverse, and specific to their region Roma are. Their history is one that has not been preserved in the same way others have and therefore they often become over-generalized as an ethnicity. But through experiencing such intracommunal distinction in the Stolipinovo neighborhood, where one portion was Turkish speaking and the other Romani speaking, I became aware of how intricate their identity truly is. Interning with the Trust for Social Achievement truly challenged me to widen my lens on the world and the people who often get left out of its narrative, and how to begin rewriting their story.
Looking Back–and Looking Ahead
My best advice for someone looking into a summer internship with TSA would be: you don’t have to know everything before you start. Asking questions to those around you and embracing uncertainty in the workplace is your most important tool. Always remember that the people around you can be your greatest teachers if you’re open to learning. Whether I aim for a career in the sphere I worked in this summer or something entirely different, I know one thing: real change happens step by step, and hand in hand.
My favorite Bulgarian saying is “капка по капка вир става” or “drop by drop a river is formed”. Without interdisciplinary efforts, and a team of driven people who dedicate themselves as I saw in TSA, a large impact will never be achieved. Every success, whether it is a program for 100 people or for 1, its impact is tenfold in magnitude. The Trust for Social Achievement taught me what a ripple effect on people truly looks like. Where good actions on one will eventually find their way to others. I have now learned what it feels like to serve for community, and that is something I will always refer back to.