I am Gulcan Yayla. I am studying at the Brown School of Social Work and doing my internship at CEAM. I am also a member of their Young Friends Network.

What do we do as Young Friends at CEAM? The answer does not have a limit. We can use any opportunity to learn about education policies in Missouri. We have meetings to discuss education policies, but we don’t have to wait for an event to be organized by CEAM – we can organize the events ourselves and invite others. We can also choose to attend a community service together, in this way we learn better.

I strongly believe that young adults should care about education policies and be involved in the conversations going on. As Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. Look around, look at the news. You can easily see the changes in legislation affecting the education of millions of children. These children and youth are in return affecting everything you care about, or they will start changing the environment in which you live. Although education policies may sound “difficult to understand” at first, if you are not involved in the conversation now, you will witness how others are changing your world. Maybe even your child’s world…

CEAM’s Young Friends Network makes the difficult conversations easier. I feel empowered seeing other young adults who ask questions, care about children’s education, and who reimagine a quality and fair education system.
If you also like to ask questions, have an idea about organizing an event with other young friends, and want to learn from others, join us and become our friend!