Host Nate Gimby welcomes student dreamer Madison Storey and her teacher Amy Clement to the podcast.
NG: Welcome to the Your Dream is Our Dream Podcast where we celebrate student success one dream at a time. This program is made possible by Kent ISD in partnership with WGVU.
NG: I’m Nate Gimby and I have with me today Madi Storey, a senior at Kenowa Hills High School and member of the Kent ISD Student Leadership Community, along with Amy Clement who teaches French and Photography and is Student Council advisor at Kenowa Hills.
NG: Thanks so much for joining me in studio today.
AC: Thanks for having us.
MS: Thank you.
NG: Of course, and Madi, let's start with you. We first met when you join Kent ISD’s Student Leadership Community. But you've known your teacher, Miss Clement, quite a bit longer. Tell us about how you met and how she's influenced your education, and what you dream of doing next.
MS: Yes, so we met in freshman year. I was in her French 1 and 2 classes in freshman and sophomore year. And then we had a semester photography together I believe in sophomore year as well, and for all four years of high school we’ve been in our student council together.
MS: She's one of the few teachers who is known me for all four years of high school and everything that we've done together, she’s always pushed me to be my best and succeed at like everything, whether it's photos we've taken in our backyard over zoom or leading my first discussion as president of city council
MS: and she is one who pushed me to run for city council president to begin. It wasn’t my first idea joining this year and starting this year off but it's been one of my best experiences so far this year and most educational and overall, she's a very hard worker and tackles a lot of things and I take that into a lot of my motivation.
NG: And Madi, I understand that your dreams, your big goals for life, do involve your experience with a student council. Could you tell us a little bit more about what you plan to do after high school?
MS: After high school, I plan to study political science, eventually pursue a law degree, and hopefully go into politics.
NG: Now, Amy, you work with many students in the array of courses that you teach and through student council. What do you see and Madi and how do you think what you teach and advise helps inspire her dreams?
AC: Well, I first have to say, I was just completely honored that Madi asked me because I know she has a number of fantastic teachers who have guided her through her years. And it has always been a pleasure to teach Madi. She has just so much potential. Even as a freshman you could just tell that she loved to learn. She's determined, she doesn't let setbacks get in her way. I love that she really dives in.
AC: She's curious about learning and she's willing to try new things. And I think with the aspirations that she has, I think that's going to be really important that she has this fearlessness that she'll take with her.
AC: Certainly in teaching art and a foreign language, it takes time to develop those skills and it's not something that happens overnight for any of us. And so the fact that she has taken classes where the success is a longer term success rather than instantaneous, I think that some of those skills might help her realize that to reach a dream, she's going to have to do daily little bits here and there - that's going to lead her to a long-term dream.
AC: And I hope that she's found a little bit of that stuff each day to kind of help push her underway and certainly in student council. She's had so many experiences leading committees and pep assemblies.
And she's spoken at school board meetings and she and a group of friends created their own assembly to speak out for against school violence last spring. And so she's already on her way.
She doesn't need any help from me. She is well prepared to head out into the future into the world. So I'm just so proud of her.
NG: Yeah, it's super cool stuff.
NG: Madi, it sounds like you're pretty involved and not just in student council but in other areas.
How is what you are learning at school helping you reach your dreams? How do you see yourself preparing for that next step through school?
MS: As much as I have taken a wide array of classes and I loved most of them, but as much as the classes and the material are important, it's mostly the connections outside of the classes themselves that I’ve seen as the most valuable, especially as student council and class president last year.
MS: They kind of came to a head with planning and planning different dances and what we do as student council, and I was starting to be looked at as more of a leader and more than ever.
MS: And I had to learn a lot if of skills like I'm holding different conversations and leading different groups, and listening to everybody's ideas and asking questions. And it's a lot of important life skills over all but very important for especially someone who's going into like law and political science and stuff.
NG: And Madi, you mentioned that experience outside the classroom. Are there other people in your life that have kind of inspired you on this path you’re on?
MS: For sure. My parents are my number one supporters. My mom, she has an English degree. So she was very excited for me to be interested in studying political science.
MS: My dad was a little wary at first because he's an engineer, so he was kind of poking a little fun. But once he learned how serious I was and how passionate I was for it, he was 110% on board.
MS: And my mom has actually, she's been on the ballot a couple times. Mostly for school board, at Kenowa, but also was for Kent County commissioner a couple years ago and me and my sister helped canvas for her and put out signs. And I got a little bit of the behind the scenes of actually having your name on the ballot and what goes into that.
MS: And she she's inspired me a lot and especially with my passion for political science. And we both have the same motivation and hope to make the world a better place.
NG: And can you tell us a little bit about your experience with the Kent ISD Student Leadership Community. So this is something separate from your student council experience at Kenowa Hills. This is kind of a new thing. And just for the folks listeners at home who may be unfamiliar, The Student Leadership Community is a group of students who are basically coming together throughout the year from districts all over Kent ISD. What's that been like for you, Madi?
MS: Honestly, amazing. I'm really honored to be a part of it and really honored that it’s lead to other experiences like this. When I first got the e-mail from Miss Walczak, I was like super excited. I ran upstairs and told my mom about it
MS: But it's really cool to see all these students together in one place. Like we've only had a couple meeting so far, but the conversations I've had, some of the students have been super intelligent and super valuable
MS: And it's really cool to see these adults, these administrators who may not be in a classroom every day being so dedicated to listening and learning from their students in their county and making education better. And I think that's the way it should be, too. Students are spending most of their time when they're growing up in schools and it should be a good experience for everybody.
NG: Yeah, I'm sure your teacher can agree. Amy, how has teaching influenced the dreams that you have for yourself and your students?
AC: So, I find this whole conversation talking about dreams kind of funny and ironic because in my house with my own children who are 10 and 13, they sometimes call me the dream crusher.
AC: And they call me the dream crusher because when they tell me that they want to be a professional ballet dancer and a YouTuber, I immediately start asking questions that are very practical and how we can make this work and they view it as me dream crushing. But really I think it's dream building.
AC: They don't realize that I'm just I'm trying to nudge them on the path to have them realize that, okay, this is a great idea, I think, but have we thought about these things?
AC: And so as a teacher and the opportunities that I had working with students through the years, I get really excited for them and to hear their dreams, it makes me so optimistic, especially in a world where sometimes we have to focus on some of the negative things that are happening, And it's you can get bogged down in that.
AC: So working with teenagers and young students and all of these kids who want to do these amazing things just makes me more optimistic for our future.
AC: And so one of my responsibilities, I think, as their teacher is not to be a dream crusher but take that role as the dream builder and kind of ask those questions like, that's great! What can I do to help? What you need? Have you thought about this? Have you considered this? Can we reach out and find someone to help you?
AC: So to me, I feel that that's just so important and having that role as a teacher has really been inspirational to allow me to give back to them in this different long-term capacity.
NG: Yes, so maybe less dream crushing and more dream constructive critiquing?
AC: Well, maybe not critique, but maybe what can I do to help? How can how can I be part of it?
AC: and for the record, my son has promised that when he's a famous YouTuber, he said he will let me live in his mansion. We will have a really nice mansion. So hopefully all my students will be able to reach their goals.
NG: Well, it sounds like your son has a retirement plan all set up for you. That's great.
NG: Amy, tell us, you know, what can educators like you learn when we ask students about their dreams and why is asking important?
AC: So I think that asking is so important because number one, some students might not have the opportunity even think that they're allowed to dream. I think a lot of students are pushed to do certain things are expected of them.
AC: They get kind of in this pattern in school - take these classes, do this, do that, get a job - that they sometimes forget, and we forget as the adults in their lives, they should be allowed to dream.
AC: They should be allowed to set their own goals and they are blank pages just ready to do whatever they want and why wouldn't we encourage them? And I think part of that encouragement, the first thing, is to ask them and be open-minded and be excited for them that they're willing to work toward something that could be meaningful to them and their world.
AC: So I just think it's just important and it helps us be more optimistic and positive about things. It makes certainly more helpful to know that we have Madi's in the world who are willing to put themselves out there to make our world better for everyone.
NG: Well, Madi, it sounds like Ms. Clemens hasn't crushed your dreams to this point. And it sounds like you have a pretty good grasp on what you want to do next. So how will you know when you've made your dreams come true?
MS: I hope to be an inspiration to others as have so many people in my life they are an inspiration to me. I think representation is really important and I can offer that representation for some people as a queer woman. And I want to help as many people as I can and I think that's when I’ll know when I’ve done what I want to do , when my dreams are a success.
NG: Well, you know, politics obviously can be such a divisive issue. And it is just so refreshing to hear a young person talking about getting involved in that in that sphere from such a public service oriented kind of mindset. So thank you so much, Madi and Amy, for talking with me today - and most of all for dreaming big.
NG: Thanks to everyone listening. If you know a student who dreams big, we'd love to share their story. Submit your ideas and hear more dream stories at KentISD.org/Your Dream.
NG: The Your Dream is Our Dream Podcast is presented by Kent ISD in partnership with WGVU
