Westridge School Seventh Graders Discover the “Power of One” with Upstander Project

Braun Hall overflowed this week with students, parents, faculty, and “upstanders” exploring the colorful exhibits created for the 7th grade’s “Power of One” project.

Each student showcased the work of someone in the local community who stands up for others in the face of injustice. In order to create their exhibit, students chose to interview upstanders like Ruth Dawson, an ACLU lawyer fighting for women’s reproductive rights; Heather Carmichael, director of youth homeless shelter My Friend’s Place; Nagin Cox, a systems engineer at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory breaking down barriers for women in STEM; Diane Luby Lane, founder of teen literacy organization Get Lit; and many more. Then students created artistic, three-dimensional representations of their upstander’s work to present during the exhibition.

Surprisingly, this uplifting project was the culmination of the Holocaust unit in Ms. Bizar and Mr. Cross’s Cultural Studies class. “We spend a lot of time understanding why people bystand in the world and why people upstand,” said Ms. Bizar. “With this project we’re able to honor what it takes to stand up and say ‘I choose to make a difference.’ It’s a beautiful way to reflect on the goodness of humanity.”

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Westridge School, 324 Madeline Drive, Pasadena, (626) 799-1053 ext. 200 or visit www.westridge.org.