Warm Summer Wishes!
The COSLI newsletter is written and edited by students on the COSLI Student Advisory Board.
Enjoy student updates, perspectives, events, and opportunities.
We are sending out the newsletter a day early as a reminder about the COSLI Alumni Book Club tonight--open to all students past and present!
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Letter from the Student Advisory Board President
Dear Friends of COSLI,
This past week I was given the opportunity to represent Colorado as a Ford Atkinson Scholarship recipient at this year’s World Leadership Congress (WLC). Meeting with students from 14 different countries and 42 states, I obtained an immense amount of valuable perspective, experience, and cultural diversity. Despite the program’s first year being held online, our student connection and activist similarities did not fall short, as we meticulously sought to answer “What does the world deserve? ”
Hearing from guest speakers from all around the world, we covered topics of racial inequality within education, cognitive flexibility, reducing marginalization of minority communities, and the evolution of systemic racism in America. As the week progressed, I began to identify an array of traits that all ambassadors possessed at the WLC; we all envisioned a world that provided pathways in education, fostered a racially equal justice system, and addressed the humanitarian and environmental issues that threaten our future existence.
Ultimately, my time spent at the World Leadership Congress taught me to think globally and act locally, without fear or intimidation.
The world deserves hope that tomorrow will be better because of our actions today. The world deserves young leaders all around the globe with a vision for the future. The world deserves YOU.
All the best,
Mohamed Ibrahim
COSLI 2019
Wiggins High School
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Letter from the Founding Executive Director
Friends of COSLI is proud to be a Project of the Rose Community Foundation
Friends,
A lot of Colorado’s students received the heart-wrenching news that this school year will be starting virtually. No matter if they are relieved to be home, fearful of this disease, or are desperate to re-join their friends, teachers, and teams, no one is celebrating. So, I’m going to take this first paragraph to ask that you check-in, frequently, with everyone… especially the kids among us. We all need encouragement right now. It’s hard.
Below, you are going to read a heartfelt plea from one of our Student Advisory Board members, who is also one of the co-editors of this newsletter. She is asking those who take the time to read what she says to please open your minds to what others are saying and experiencing. In a few months, fingers crossed that she’ll be allowed to travel, she is headed to New Zealand for a gap year where she’ll be spending time developing as a young leader in her family’s religious belief system.
Her letter talks about the overarching goal of COSLI. The program is rigorous, with hours of academic lectures and exercises, loads of homework and big projects, and an incredibly high expectation for development as pre-college students and future thought leaders. At the same time, though, we are developing the most unlikely of “families.” Our students come from a wide cross-section of politics, social-economics, geographies, ethnicities, and all of the other characteristics that we seem to assume divide us. During their time together, the students support one another to finish whatever task it is that is due at midnight on that day. It’s not to say that there aren’t disagreements, boy are there. Nor is it to say that we don’t have to have difficult conversations about the same sorts of things society is having to have--they are having it even more and even more in depth. The difference is that they are listening to one another with a sincere desire to reach a balanced conclusion. They are seeking outcomes that can benefit the whole, while not causing any of the individuals to compromise their values.
It made me recall these words from President John F. Kennedy, “Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democrat answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.” That’s what COSLI is about.
Celeste
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Lesson Learned: Kaliah Yizar, COSLI Class of 2020
Authors: Timi Kola-Abiola and Bryce Li
The COSLI Class of 2020 has surely had to overcome all sorts of obstacles and adversity amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In recognition of this, Bryce and Timi hope to highlight some accomplishments of the Class of 2020. For this month, Bryce and Timi interviewed Kaliah Yizar, one of the founders of Know Justice, Know Peace, a podcast focusing on educating people about the issues that black people face in America.
When discussing the origins of the podcast, Kaliah described her school trip to Washington D.C. as momentous. During that trip, she visited the Museum of African American History and Culture and found it incredibly enlightening. Due to this, she wanted to bring that awareness to her school. Kaliah and three other young women, Jenelle Nangah, Dahni Austin, and Alana Mitchell, attended a school board meeting, hoping to push for more black history in the school curriculum. Kaliah says that reforms were taking place and that events were forthcoming until COVID-19 slowed everything down. As they were suddenly unable to follow through with planned activities, they brainstormed new ideas. Jenelle had recently started a YouTube channel, and the group took that as newfound inspiration for how to spread their message remotely. They came up with the idea of a podcast centered around learning about black history and issues that affect black people.
Kaliah says that she and her colleagues have a lot to say on the podcast, and she appreciates the amount of openness that people have demonstrated towards their cause. At the end of the day, she says that "We're just making sure that we can get our voices heard--black women especially. We're educating people; not everyone chooses to be ignorant, it can be from a lack of knowledge. Our mission is to educate."
Kaliah describes her favorite part of the podcast as just being able to get questions together and hear what others have to say. She loves to hear different viewpoints, foster conversation, and know that people are truly going to take something away from the podcast. She says that even though running a podcast is quite a stressful experience, she still finds it to be an incredibly rewarding experience.
There will always be many people who believe that the youth should not be involved in these causes. To this, she says that "Gen Z has a lot of new, powerful perspectives. We've watched the older generation fight for too long, and so our perspectives are unique. Also, it's important to listen to young people because young people have more knowledge and increased access to resources due to social media. The youth were a centerpiece in almost every large historical transformation in the past."
Know Justice, Know Peace has definitely left a huge impact on the community. Kaliah mentions how the Colorado Sun, Denver Post, 9 News, 7 News, and Fox News have all covered their podcast. Know Justice, Know Peace has also received a lot of attention from Denver Public Schools and other schools in the community. For example, Kaliah and 3 other young women presented at a teacher conference on these issues; Kaliah was informed that around 2,000 teachers were watching! Due to all of this exposure, Kaliah explains that people are now visibly having more open conversations about these issues.
Kaliah encourages other young people to become more civically engaged as well. She notes that many opportunities are remote and online; for example, you can go online and search for petitions to sign about issues that you care about. She believes that social media is a perfect way to promote what you believe. Most importantly, she hopes that the youth don't back down, as their viewpoints are very important. Kaliah also mentions that her favorite part of the podcast is not only hearing what other people have to say on specific issues, but also having the ability to listen to different viewpoints and foster informative discussion through the podcast.
Bryce and Timi asked Kaliah why she decided to do COSLI. She said that she thought it was a great opportunity, and that she was super interested in what the organization had to offer. Additionally, she really appreciates the fact that everyone selected for COSLI is very dedicated to what they do. Bryce and Timi truly congratulate Kaliah and her colleagues on the success of their podcast, and they wish the best to the COSLI Class of 2020!
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COSLI Field Trip
Student Features
This year's COSLI 2020 class will not be physically all together until Summer 2021. But a small group enjoyed a masked socially distanced visit to History Colorado for a guided visit of Hecho en Colorado and to the Denver Art Museum for the Norman Rockwell exhibit exploring freedom.
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Student Features
Note that all students who successfully complete COSLI are given automatic acceptance to the University of Colorado Denver.
Mohamed Ibrahim (2019) was awarded a Scholarship from the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Board of Directors to attend the online World Leadership Congress. Great job, Mohamed!
Myria Garcia (2018) was awarded the 2020 Zachary Jimenez Memorial Scholarship. This year, the winners were all female athletes! Myria is headed to American University in Washington, D.C.
Bedha Neophaney (2018) has been named a Greenhouse Scholar and All-Ways Up Foundation Scholar headed to DU in the fall, majoring in Political Science and Law.
Yael Sanchez (2018) received the Dream Scholarship, Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship, CSU Academic Recognition Award, MEF Legacy Scholarship.
Itzel Gonzalez (2014) was accepted to complete a Masters of Public Administration from CU Denver’s School of Public Affairs. This summer, she was awarded a merit-based financial aid package.
(And, she became engaged!)
Sara Taketatsu (2014) began her role as Vice President for American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) in Washington, D.C.
Caden Carey (2016) has been admitted to begin his studies at the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, RI this month!
Happy Birthday to our COSLI Alumni! May your day be full of smiles!
Love, your COSLI Family.
Elmer Dever - 8/3
Maggy Kundlas - 8/3
Hannah Park - 8/4
Simone Chitwood - 8/4
Summer Nyseth - 8/4
Naomi Prince Burton - 8/5
Azlyn Deherrera - 8/6
Caden Carey - 8/7
Itzel Gonzalez - 8/7
Luna Rodriguez - 8/7
Ayanle Nur - 8/9
Rhys Chambers - 8/10
Delilah Danforth - 8/11
Jonathan Fuller 8/12
Katie Gillman 8/12
Catherine Distel - 8/14
Christian Cardona - 8/14
Aleya Dominguez - 8/15
Ayla Sanchez - 8/15
Nathaniel Lacher - 8/17
Bryan Soto Tovar - 8/18
Julieta Ballesteros - 8/18
Phillip Chiem - 8/20
Emma Davis - 8/22
Evan Shiveley - 8/20
Jamar Holmes - 8/22
Ofelia Hernandez - 8/22
Avery Hericks - 8/25
Sasha Bailey - 8/25
Naomi Lyle - 8/26
Pek Ei - 8/26
Colorado History
What else happened in July?
Did you know these historical events occurred in July?
August 1, 1876 - Colorado becomes an official U.S. state, declared by President Ulysses S. Grant.
August 27, 1954- Fort Carson is designated to become a major army base
August 13, 1997- South Park, the animated TV series, makes its debut. The show is set in South Park, Colorado.
We are so proud of our COSLI alumni! Contact Izzy McCarty (imccarty2021@esdk12.org) or Sheila Ta (sheilata93@gmail.com) with college acceptances as they start rolling in and any other cool projects or successes!
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COSLI Book Club Update
The first meeting of the COSLI Book Club was a success! We’re reading the book Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds. It allows a discussion to be held surrounding the history of race and its implications in society today. This is a book club open to all who are willing to have an open mind and discuss the world around them, and is a place for you to form your own opinions. We had two food-for-thought quotes from the book that will be discussed at the next meeting, and we encourage you all to consider them as well.
- “I found that the need of powerful people to defend racist policies that benefited them led them to produce racist ideas, and when unsuspecting people consumed these racist ideas, they became ignorant and hateful.” (Introduction page xiv)
- “Fooled by racist ideas, I did not fully realize that the only thing wrong with Black people is that we think something is wrong with Black people.” (Introduction page xv)
The assignment for this upcoming two weeks is to read chapters 1-14 (pages 1-117) for our next meeting at 5:00 Sunday, August 2nd. The meeting after that will be Sunday August 16th It’s not too late to join, so make sure to encourage your friends and family to reach out to Celeste Archer (celeste.archer@ucdenver.edu) to join. Thanks to all who have joined and who participated in our opening meeting, this is a great opportunity to educate yourself alongside your peers.
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Editor Feature: Drew Smith
Dear Friends of COSLI,
For a nation named the United States, I have never seen us so divided. This continuing division is not rooted in race, beliefs, or gender, but rather our inability to be open minded and our refusal to find common ground. We need to start hearing opinions, rather than tearing them down, start truly listening to others rather than listening with the intention to argue our own opinion. Steven Aitchison, the author of 100 Ways to Develop Your Mind: The Psychology of the Mind and How to Develop Your Mind to Change Your Life said “Open-minded people do not impose their beliefs on others. They accept that we all have a different perspective on life, and do their own thing in peace without judgement.”
People have become afraid to share their differing opinions in a culture that has promoted being yourself more so today than ever before, yet as soon as a controversial topic arises in a conversation, people become hesitant. We have grown a lot in this country, but in the way of discussing opinions we have back slided. We should be encouraging others to engage in conversation. Progress doesn’t come from bullying others or pushing your opinions on others, but by talking, listening, and finding common ground. As COSLI alumni, we have been taught to be on the forefront of this, leading the charge to being understanding.
Being close minded only means putting yourself in a box, a box in which you believe there is nothing else to learn.
We appreciate you all so much!
Sincerely,
Drew Smith (2018)
Monte Vista
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Alumni Feature: Rhys Chambers
 Hello COSLI friends,
I hope everyone is having a great summer! Between COVID and the heightened social awareness, it’s been a crazy few months. However, I’m excited for the change that is knocking at our nation’s door.
Although I am not a member of the COSLI alumni book club, I too have been reading Stamped by Ibram X. Kendi. A small group of students from my school decided to create a book club of our own in hopes of better understanding the Black Lives Matter movement. Our goal has been to educate both ourselves and our (predominately white) community of the issues that seem so foreign to small Colorado towns like our own. However, I have realized that racism extends far beyond the city streets and language of our political leaders. It is an issue embedded in the roots of our nation, and regardless of how “sheltered” a community may seem to issues pertaining to complicated topics such as racism, the problem will always persist in some way, shape, or form.
So, my group of peers decided to sit down with our local police chief to simply have a discussion. The local radio station and newspaper were also there to listen in. It started off with a little beating around the bush, but eventually we got around to the topic of police brutality against people of color (this was also my topic for the social issue presentation at COSLI!). Clearly, he was going to defend the side of the police, but that’s why we were having the discussion. I won’t bore you all with the details, but he essentially explained that law enforcement was a dangerous profession, and the majority of the job is based on individual judgement. He noted that officers go through extensive training (up to 2 years for himself) before being able to work for a department. He also mentioned that training is a continual process, and that the topic of “defunding the police” would likely cut police training services before anything else.
It was an incredibly interesting conversation to have. The chief was open to our criticisms of the system, but took a strong stance with the police force. He even read Stamped in preparation for the meeting. Now more than ever, conversations like these need to be had. There will always be two sides to every battle, and I do believe there can be a happy medium without the end result being an “us versus them” battle.
My group’s next goal is to have a conversation with our school’s administration regarding a required social justice class credit. There is so much wiggle room with what can be taught in history and literature classes that content at our school tends to focus more on the dead white men who built the political culture of this country, than the minority groups who quite literally built America. We are hoping that a required social justice class credit will help even out the tone of our school’s curriculum and encourage students to do their own research and draw their own conclusions about racism and similar social issues. These problems start in the education system, and the day that our American history classes become fully comprehensive of our nation’s past and our literature classes teach more relevant books portraying systemic racism as a current issue, is the day that we can begin to make real change.
In all, I am very excited for more of these types of difficult conversations to be had. I encourage all of you to reach out to local officials, school admin, and law enforcement in order to broaden your own perspectives and make change in your own communities. It’s going to be a long and winding road to complete justice and equality, but education and discussion are the first steps we need to take to make a difference.
Rhys Chambers (2019)
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Opportunities and Events: August 2020
The COSLI Book Club is a new program created by COSLI alums Sophia Truex, Sheila Ta, and Drew Smith. It meets every other Sunday at 5 pm. If you are interested, just email Celeste for more info! Currently, the club is reading Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You (a Remix) by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds.
Even though many volunteer shifts have been suspended, Project Angel Heart is still looking for volunteers for bag decoration and meal delivery drivers! PAH makes and delivers meals to people with terminal illnesses. More information can be found here.
The National History Academy Online is offering four one-week programs centered on the Case Method Institute’s “History of American Democracy” curriculum. These weekly cases focus on critical events in our history--the creation of the Constitution, political division leading to the Civil War, Martin Luther King’s fight for civil rights and voting rights, and women’s struggle for equal rights in America. Classes, guest speakers, and virtual site visits allow students to relate these defining events of our history to the serious challenges we face as a country today. Completely free for high school students. More info here.
The Amazon Future Engineer Program is a series of free online courses being offered for kids and teens interested in computer science. There are different challenges and opportunities for anyone, and you can get involved very easily. These are all being offered for free until the fall!
More info here.
TeensGive is a program made entirely to promote teens volunteering. It is a huge database of volunteer opportunities for youth across the country, including many online positions. Check this out if you are interested in getting involved in some way, but aren’t sure how. More info here.
The United Nations has a program for anyone to get involved and volunteer digitally. This is open to anyone who wants to help out, including teens, and is full of many different opportunities. There is work for people interested in translation, research, COVID-19 Response and many other areas. More info found here.
The Smithsonian has an online transcription volunteer program. Teens can become part of the effort to transcribe huge parts of the Smithsonian archives, getting to interact with many different historical documents and work to transcribe them for digital access. This is open to both teens and adults! More info here.
Translators Without Borders is a program for people who speak multiple languages to do translating jobs as volunteer work. Teens can sign up for this too! More info found here.
Points of Light is the biggest provider and database of volunteer opportunities in Colorado. There are many opportunities available for teens here.
Johns Hopkins University and many other colleges are providing free courses and resources for anyone interested in joining. There are one-day classes and full courses available here, all open to people of any ages.
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COSLI Reads
Need book recommendations? Well here’s a list of what the COSLI alumni are reading- take a look, you might find one you like! Enjoy!
See what your COSLI alumni have been reading!
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
I Have the Right To by Chessy Prout & Jenn Abelson
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon
The Supreme Court by William H. Rehnquist
Splendid Solution by Jeffrey Kluger
Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis
Make Your Bed by William H. McRaven
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
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Meme of the Month
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COSLI Newsletter Contributors
Sophia Truex, Editor (Crested Butte, CO)
Drew Smith, Editor (Monte Vista, CO)
Hagan Archer (Denver, CO)
Iris Courtney (Thornton, CO)
Emma Davis (Aurora, CO)
Mohamed Ibrahim (Wiggins, CO)
Timi Kola-Abiola (Denver, CO)
Bryce Li (Broomfield, CO)
Emma Logan (Denver, CO)
Izzy McCarty (Elizabeth, CO)
Valeria Miramontes (Denver, CO)
Sheila Ta (Pueblo, CO)
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