By Tali Haller
Located in a relatively safe and just corner of the world, Olympia is nevertheless home to many community activists who are passionate about broadening awareness and creating change. One such community member is student Adora Nwankwo, a senior at Olympia High School. Throughout her high school experience, Nwankwo has found herself drawn to endeavors that help and serve other people. “It’s taken me awhile to really hone my interests and educate myself on the current global issues,” said Nwankwo. “However, I am beginning to really understand where my passions lie and how I can progress forwards.”
As a first-generation American, Nwankwo has been familiar with the realities of other countries from a young age. “My parents both grew up in Nigeria, coming to the United States for school, and integrating successfully,” she explained. “But seeing and hearing what their life was like has pushed me to be the type of person who makes a change in the world. From their stories, I have realized not only the realities of gender inequality and lack of education but the ramifications of it as well.”
According to Nwankwo, the village where her father grew up only educated boys. Rather than going to school, girls were expected to stay at home, taking care of the house.
While many people might feel discouraged by this clear gender inequality, Nwankwo sees opportunity. “So many people ask, ‘How do we break the cycle of poverty? How do we reform?’” she said. “But really, I think the answer is right in front of us. I believe that these countries can be successful when they learn how to maximize their resources and energies – as opposed to receiving foreign aid.”
In light of this, Nwankwo focuses on advocating for women’s education, in the process, taking steps toward equality. “A country that only educates half of its population can’t reach its full potential.” What’s more, Nwankwo keeps in mind that there are lot of simple ways women can become more active in society. “Self-reliance is key,” she said. “Teaching women how to take control of their finances and giving them microloans to buy farm animals, like goats, can get a big return on investment and is a good place to start.”
With the motivation to empower others and these ideas as her platform, Nwankwo works to spread awareness. Due to her strong involvement through all four years of high school, she is now the President of Rotary Interact at OHS, a club dedicated to discussing and trying to find solutions to international causes. Each year, Rotary Interact hosts a myriad of fundraisers and drives, such as a book drive, hygiene drive, and clothing drive. “These are more than just fundraisers though, they are also awareness campaigns,” said Nwankwo. “For instance, during the book drive, we focus on worldwide literacy rates.” Rotary Interact also hosts an international dinner, where community members come together to dine on donated cuisine and talk. At this event the people gathered focus on international issues and all the money raised is split between an international cause like Heifer International and a local cause like SafePlace.
Although Rotary Interact provided the foundation for Nwankwo’s interest, she has taken initiative and pushed her learning further on her own. Last year, she hosted a Women’s Awareness Film night, where she showed the documentary, Half the Sky, while raising funds for an organization she has done a lot of work with, Youth in Reconstruction in the World of Deconstruction. “My goal with the film presentation was to bring the community together and show them what they can start doing, the simple things that are within reach of us all,” she said.
OHS Principal Matt Grant and others have noticed her work. “It’s these efforts to promote awareness that make Adora a unique and special student,” said Grant.
Nwankwo is also a member of STAND (Students Together Advocating Nonviolence and Diversity). According to her, STAND is less of a “club” and more of a coalition of young, like-minded individuals who want to make a difference. “In many clubs you are along for the ride, but what I liked about STAND was that I felt like I was driving the bus.”
What’s more, Mr. Grant is very involved. “Mr. Grant is a visionary, a cultural guru, and an engaging ‘outside-of-the-classroom’ teacher,” observed Nwankwo, “It’s great to be able to connect with him.” STAND promotes inclusiveness and a welcoming environment within the school, allowing students to put proposed solutions into action with the OK from faculty.
“We do a lot of discussing and problem solving, but we also take a lot of immersion field trips and listen to speakers,” said Nwankwo. Recently, STAND went on a homeless-immersion field trip, traveling downtown to see what poverty and homelessness looks like in our community. They also met with the different organizations that are working to combat homelessness here in Olympia. “We ate lunch with homeless people at the Union Gospel Mission, which hands out free meals, and it was so eye-opening,” she said. “You realize that there are more to the struggles and the person than what you see on the side of the road.”
Nwankwo wants to round out her experience, not just discussing problems but also listening and understanding the needs of the community. With this in mind, she began volunteering for the Thurston Country Crisis Clinic. “I’ve learned so much about how to reach out to people and the resources available: crisis resolution resources, behavioral health resources, housing shelters, etc.” What’s really stuck out to her is how diverse the needs of the community are. “Some people call because of domestic violence, others want to talk about a pet that just died,” she said.
“What’s really astounding, is how much people in the community can do to help each other once they know how,” she said. “My next step while I’m still here is to make these resources more widely known.”
But as a senior, Nwankwo is preparing to head off to college. “I’m looking for a place that develops really strong leaders and is capable of shaping me to be a strong foreign and domestic policy maker,” she said. Nwankwo hopes to study international relations, political science, and social science. After obtaining a graduate degree, she wants to enter the Peace Corps and spend time overseas, putting words to action.
“All of the things I’ve been a part of have strengthened my interests in helping others, and while I am starting local in my community, I hope to go further as my life progresses,” summarized the local advocate.
