It has been a professional dream of mine to present at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) annual convention. This convention, held once a year, hosts thousands of experts, educators, and famous authors from all across the country who share ideas and learn from one another. Every year thousands of proposals are submitted, so it felt like a long shot when I applied. After months of hard work, our proposal was accepted!

This November, I will travel to Denver to present a unit my colleagues and I have spent the past few years honing and developing. This unit aims to lift the voices of our migrant students and neighbors through student-led interviews and narrative journalism. Inspired by Judie Panneton’s book Proud Americans: Growing Up as Children of Immigrants, the unit teaches students how to conduct meaningful interviews and craft their findings into a professional, journalistic narrative. We are so excited to share this work with fellow educators nationwide who want to bring similar storytelling and empathy-building opportunities to their own classrooms.

I’m hoping to raise $600 to offset registration costs for our group members and books for session attendees.

If you’re able to give, any amount helps bring this important work to a national stage. Your support means more than I can say, not just to me, but to the students and families whose voices we hope to honor.