We successfully concluded our first year at the Bronx Center of Science and Math this past June. We ran three daily elective classes, and the impact on the students, as we can see from our self-assessment data, has been beyond our expectations. We are very grateful to the students and administration of BCSM for welcoming the QUESTion Project into their wonderful school.
Here is what Brandon A. Moreno, a junior student at BCSM, said about the project:
“(…) This project poses as a beacon of light to those who live in fear, doubt, trouble, question… There are a lot of people like myself who question the world. The common question I hear and see is, “Why am I here”, “What am I going to do with my life”, “I give up.” Being from the Bronx I never fully realized the negativity that creeks here day and night until I became independent, when I started going out into “The World”. All I see here is poverty, self doubt, and such negativity. I started understanding what others felt because I felt what they were feeling, fear. Clueless and sad almost every day because I wasn’t satisfied with where I was living and who I was. Because of the introduction of the QUESTion Project here at BCSM my perspective on life did change into a more positive direction and now, being apart of the QUESTion Project has helped me as an individual extend my character into somebody better. This project will be important to many others who were like me at one point who are struggling to find out who they are as an individual and are struggling to find a sense of purpose in life.”
We took part in the year-end celebration at BCSM, humorously called the “BCSEMMYS”, where our team was selected to lead off the event. We did so in style, with the entire school in attendance. Those who say OFI doesn’t know how to have a good time have never been with us at a party… because we raised the roof and brought the house down… Five of our star students came up to the stage and shared their experience with the program. One spoke about why education should support students in the exploration of big questions, while another spoke of having the courage to be himself in the face of pressure. Two of the students showed a video they made entitled, “Courage to Love.” Josh, our Student Leader, concluded the event with a spoken word poem and then invited students on stage to join him in dancing to a popular hip-hop song called “Watch Me (Whip / Nae Nae)”… See below!
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