Moved to Action

9/6/2019

Laura Hamlin Weiler '00, Head of Community Engagement

Inspired by visiting Chapel speaker, Madigan ’21 learns Arabic to better support area refugees.

Sitting in chapel as a sophomore last year, Ellie Madigan was moved to action. Madigan was listening to a speaker from ReEstablish Richmond, a local nonprofit committed to “helping refugees establish roots, build community, and become self-sufficient.” The group approaches their work from a practical standpoint, helping refugees gain employment, education, transportation, and other daily necessities. Many of the refugees with whom they work come from primarily Arabic-speaking nations.

Madigan, class of 2021, listened as the speaker from ReEstablish Richmond explained the kind of refugees they serve and the languages they speak. She decided she wanted to learn something practical to help those coming into the U.S. as Arabic-language speakers. For her, this meant understanding others better and more fully. She carefully and intentionally cultivated a plan to bring her intent to action.

After much research and an application process, Madigan was thrilled to join the Startalk Summer Program in Boston, Massachusetts for three weeks of intensive study in Arabic language and culture.

The program’s mission reads strikingly similarly to Trinity’s own mission: “The program creates a dynamic academic environment where students from a variety of backgrounds can express their full selves, build communicative skills, and develop an ethic of lifelong learning as global citizens.” Madigan said, “it was the best three weeks of my life.”

Madigan commuted into the city six days per week for the program, which was taught 70% in Arabic with lots of hand gestures and context, in an auditory teaching style. The class learned primarily practical language from teachers who had lived in Jordan and Egypt. Her cohort included 50 high school students, grades 9-12. Madigan knew no one going into the program; however, she saw the entire experience as a wonderful growth opportunity.

“[The group contained] some of the nicest people I have met,” said Madigan. “It was so cool to be somewhere where everyone was so excited about language and culture. We all bonded and visited Boston together at the end of the program, and I plan to stay in contact with them. Everyone was really supportive and helped one another to understand, and people were constantly pushing themselves to learn more and explore further.”

Elements of the program included visiting a mosque and learning about Islamic faith, attending farmer’s markets and engaging in bargaining, where Madigan successfully bargained for a lower price on Jordanian bread. They learned traditional Syrian dances, drum lines, tessellation and mosaic drawings, and songs. They even had a class specifically on coffee shop culture.

A culminating activity was writing and illustrating a children’s picture book about themselves in Arabic. Madigan wrote about herself, her family and Richmond. “It was a great tool to see how much we had learned,” she said. The program ended with a graduation ceremony.

The experience made Madigan even more excited about the IB Diploma Programme and the opportunities it presents to explore subjects on a global level. She is hoping to take an online Arabic class this year and is considering writing her IB Extended Essay on something related to Arabic.

Additionally, she is better primed for new situations and is excited to extend herself more. “I was forced to be more extroverted and more assertive,” she said. These skills are important as Madigan prepares for Junior Work Week and adventures after her time at Trinity. In addition to learning Arabic, Madigan made Madame Urena proud by making friends with a French student in the program and speaking French with him, even earning a compliment about her great accent.

For Madigan, the opportunity to learn a new language and culture, explore a major city, and be in an environment of equally intellectually curious and supportive learners was a life-changing experience. Fortunately for us, we have two more years with Madigan as she turns “life into learning and learning into life” for the betterment of others, a lesson that resonates in any language.

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About “Connections”

Connections is a regular online column, written from the first-person perspective of Laura Hamlin Weiler ’00, Head of Community Engagement:

In this space, I have the privilege of sharing stories of Trinity students, alumni, and faculty and staff who are carrying our mission beyond the boundaries of campus. Many of these stories might not make the headlines, but they will illustrate how every member of the Trinity community has a unique path to discover, and the ability to make an impact on both the Trinity community and the world beyond.

I am fortunate to have been a part of this community since my own adolescence. I have been a student, a teacher, a coach, and an administrator, and in these roles I have witnessed the school’s growth and evolution through the years. We have grown in size as well as spirit.

Stories here will capture how seeds planted at Trinity have taken root and flourished into full-grown passions. You’ll also read stories of those in our community who bring their gifts from outside to help us learn. At Trinity, we seek to develop lifelong learners, and stories here will illustrate real-life examples of that beautiful symbiosis.