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PrintMembers of a Rock Bridge High School contemporary issues class got a lesson a little more poignant and unique than usual on Friday when former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell called them on the phone.
“It was a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said sophomore Brett Beutenmiller.
The class, taught by social studies teacher Matt Cone, encourages students to think globally by bringing in experts on international issues.
In the long-planned interview, Powell answered students’ questions via phone for about 10 minutes about how AIDS affects the global community. He urged them to get involved in the fight against the disease by educating their peers and by volunteering at home and overseas.
“More than anything, Powell is an inspiration to us,” Beutenmiller said. “He gave us a large-scale view about what is going on in the world.”
Powell is not the first prominent figure to speak about AIDS with Cone’s class. Paul Farmer and Ophelia Dahl, co-founders of the social justice and international health organization Partners in Health, spoke with the class in a previous semester and are scheduled for a second interview in January.
“They were the first people to really get the kids involved and interested in AIDS,” Cone said. “Talking with these people pulls kids in and gets them excited.”
Cone’s class writes letters to invite politicians and activists to speak. While writing invitational letters doesn’t score the students any extra points, it does show them how they can make a difference, Cone said.
“The letters make things happen,” he said. “I bet Powell doesn’t speak to a lot of high schools because they don’t do things like this.”
After speaking with the AIDS charity Mothers to Mother to Be earlier in the semester, the students began selling bracelets made by the charity to Rock Bridge students and faculty. All the money goes to the charity, and about 60 have been sold so far, junior Lauren Towns said.
“We’re selling them because we want to help fix global problems,” Towns said.
Towns and 11 other Rock Bridge students are going to Africa to help charities with supplies and labor next year. The trip costs around $5,000. Towns said she is going to pay $1,000 herself by working extra hours.
“People our age don’t realize that we can change things if we want,” she said.
After Powell told the audience he had time for one last question, Cone asked why such a busy man would take the time to talk to his class.
The former secretary of state responded by saying that it is his responsibility as an older person to speak with younger people.
“It makes me feel like I’m younger,” he said.
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