Midweek Messenger - Kimberton Waldorf School

M idWeek Messenger
P a ge 6
Career Elective: Struggle for Social Impact inthe “Cityof BrotherlyLove”
By Alexis Bacon, 12th Grade
On Monday morning I took the train into
Philadelphia’s Market East Station and walked the short
distance to the office where I would begin my career
elective. I worked for a company called Design for Social
Impact that does anything related to graphic design.
They work mostly with non-profit organizations to
create ways to promote that organization or
certain social issues. They try to create text and visuals
that move people to action. One of their most
well-known designs is the “Buy Fresh, Buy Local” logo,
and like this logo, most of their work is done out of
inspiration from the style of the advertisements during
the New Deal.
During my week at DFSI, I conducted a survey with my
peers to see how teens get their information and how
they form opinions on that information. Basically, the
end result would tell DFSI how they can do a better job at reaching out to teen audiences. DFSI also wanted to know how
teens react to visuals and text so they had me create a book of images and text that inspire me. I also got to work on a
pretty big project with the members of DFSI that was presented to the mayor of a small town in New Jersey.
I enjoyed working at DFSI and the work I got to do there. But most of all, I appreciated the eye-opening experience of
walking from the station to the office twice a day. I learned more about the world outside my protected environment by
walking down the streets of Philly than I did at my work at DFSI. During my career elective, I heard on the radio that
although Philly is called the “city of brotherly love,” many people living in Philadelphia feel like their neighbors don’t care
about them. This was obvious walking into the city; what a different world! We hear about starvation and hard living
conditions across the globe, but don’t hear about what’s happening an hour away unless it affects us. The number of
homeless in Philadelphia is incredible. I hope that this will eventually be one of the issues that DFSI will address.
News fromthe College Guidance Office
The College Guidance Office has been exceptionally busy lately;
most seniors have already applied to college and some have already been accepted!
The good news so far: Tessa Bailey has been admitted to Eastern University. Sebastian Roemer has been accepted to
Washington and Jefferson College. Kieran Schad has been accepted to Penn State Berks. Also, Skyler Lehmkuhl was named
a Commended Scholar as a result of his PSAT scores. Congratulations, and good luck to all our seniors!
Exciting Summer Opportunities for High School Students:
For all students (9 th -11 th ): The Pennsylvania Free Enterprise Week summer program is accepting applications—spend a week
on a college campus learning about business! Visit www.pfew.org
For 10 th and 11 th grade students: There is a unique opportunity available for KWS students who are 16 and 17 years of age,
with a minimum of one year of high school remaining, to make application to go on a “United Nations pilgrimage” over the summer.
The trip begins on June 30 th and runs for 10 days. This a yearly excursion sponsored by the altruistic fraternal organization,
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Each year, students from around the world are nominated for the opportunity to come together to study and learn about the
United Nations, world affairs, international relations, economics and political science, including a “behind-the scenes”
interactive tour of the UN headquarters, which is a privilege extended exclusively to this particular group. The tour lasts for 10
days, and in addition to the time spent in NYC (which also includes a Broadway play, tours of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and
Rockefeller Center, etc.), there is also travel (by bus) to other locales, including (on past tours): Philadelphia, Gettysburg,
Harrisburg, Washington DC, Toronto & Ottawa. Looks like a great program—and it’s FREE! See Lauren Gauthier or Mrs. Zay if
you’re interested (deadline is Dec. 31 but KWS deadline is Dec. 10). More information:
http://www.unpilgrimage.org/UNP_Program/UNP_PgmOverview.html