Grow it Forward in Manitowoc is receiving a helping hand from some local high school students.
These students are a part of the International Baccalaureate Program, which their adult advisor Barb Bundy-Jost describes as a rigorous program, that offers a constant level of education, no matter where you are in the world.
“We became a world school 10 or 11 years ago,” Bundy-Jost explained. “As a full diploma student, the kids that I’m working with will get two diplomas. They will get their high school diploma from the State of Wisconsin, and if they test well, and do all the components of the IB program, they can earn a full IB diploma, meaning they graduated from a world school, and often times it gives them substantial credits in college.”
The program has three parts to it. There is of course the course of study, as well as an extensive research essay, and 150 hours of creativity, activity, and service, which is where Grow it Forward comes in.
We spoke with the members of the program, which include Ripley Walters-Giblin, Joseph Beattie, Samantha Czekala, Isabela Bennett, Logan Anderson, and Joey O’Connor, who said he really enjoyed learning the importance of paying attention to everybody in the community.
“The community isn’t necessarily defined just by how the most prosperous are doing, and how the ones that you see in the news are doing, it’s how everybody is doing,” Joey said. “Everybody in the community really makes a difference.”
Samantha said that she has had a great time giving back to the community, in a time where doing so wasn’t always easy. In fact, as Isabela explained, Grow it Forward was very happy to have the students on hand.
“Immediately when you walked in, you could see the joy on everyone’s faces that worked here,” Isabella stated. “You saw that you wanted everyone to help as much as they could because they want to give back to the community as much as possible.”
Another intriguing aspect of the International Baccalaureate Program is the wide range of students that are a part of it. Logan said he enjoyed making friends with some people that he may have only known in passing previously.
“I think that has been really fun,” Logan told SeehaferNews.com. “I think it’s good to mix friend groups because I think you learn a lot about people and a lot about the world. It makes you more accepting and a better person.”
Bundy-Jost said the students have been helping out at Grow it Forward since November, doing things like participating in making food boxes, maintaining grow towers, and working together to provide each other support.
She called this experience “incredibly valuable” for the future members of the community.
