Chelsea SGA takes part in peace initiative

The Chelsea High School Student Government Association is taking part in a peace initiative that is run through NewGen Peacebuilders, a nonprofit group out of Charlotte, North Carolina.

NewGen is an award-winning peace education, training and mentoring program that equips people to build peace and repeat the peace in their communities, countries and the world.

Collectively, there are 120 students from 24 schools, with nine high schools part of the initiative.

Along with several other schools in the Birmingham area, Chelsea is the only school in Shelby County participating in the program.

In 2018, SGA sponsor Ryan Adams served as one of four peace teachers selected by the U.S. Institute of Peace.

“The executive director of NewGen was in Birmingham with the rotary club and found my name and contacted me,” Adams said. “Our conversation was about the possibility of the rotary club doing a peace initiative and was asking my advice on things.”

When COVID-19 hit, Adams was asked if he wanted to be part of the planning committee. Adams assisted in reaching out to the Birmingham metro area and an email blast was sent to every high school in a 15-mile radius of the Birmingham metro area.

There was a teacher component and a service component throughout the fall during recruitment. On Martin Luther King Day, the initial welcome of the students and their programs took place.

The Chelsea SGA’s overall goal is to establish an identity for students and for all students. With the qualities of learning, service and character in mind, they hope to leave a legacy of excellence and tradition is created that continues with the many students that will come after them.  In early March, the students from different groups had to develop a peace project. The Chelsea High School SGA decided on the idea of community as their peace initiative.

The SGA picked up three other at-large members who became part of the program but are nonvoting members from other service clubs.

“They had to dedicate some hours outside of school,” Adams said. “It was four hours of professional development, two of which were on Saturdays, for them to be a part and commit to this program.”

Adams said the group has a short-term goal and a long-term goal, and the Chelsea High School Hall of Fame induction on April 27 incorporates both.

“We want to establish a foundation from where we have been and where we are going,” he said.

On May 8, the group participated in the YOUnited (virtual) Celebration of over 120 peace project mentors and students from 24 high schools in completing the first NewGen Peacebuilders program in metro Birmingham.

Tanner Marlow spoke about the project at the Chelsea Hall of Fame induction and showed a short video of what the group had done this year.

“We talked to people from all walks of life and experiences and our teams identified sources of conflict in their communities and addressed the youth in our community,” Marlow said. With the growing population, many fall into anonymity.”

They used Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs as a model during their project. Those include physiological needs,safety needs, love and belonging, esteem and self-actualization.

Colin Rigor also spoke and said the group has established long standing partnerships that will improve the quality of life for Chelsea residents.