Overcome.

Speak up.

Self-confidence.

Honesty.

At the end of a digital storytelling workshop I led last night, I asked the students in the class to share one word that captures what they were thinking or feeling. The words above were some of the ones they chose.

My word?

Excited.

The students in this workshop series are from five different countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. They are studying in the U.S. for one year through an exchange program that gives scholarships to young people from economically or politically marginalized countries and groups. Each of them could probably choose a dozen powerful stories to tell from their lives. During our three-part workshop, they are developing a story about one transformation they have gone through during their time in the U.S.

No matter what country or background you are from, this is for sure: living in a completely different culture for a year will change you. The students I’m working with are crafting stories about the struggle to be understood in a new language, finding confidence in a different education system, learning to explore a city alone, and more.

And me, I’m excited to help them tell those stories.