October 30, 2009
We went on our first field trip to Alexandria City Hall and met Mayor William Euille. Mayor Euille graduated from T.C Williams High School and was the first person of color to be the Mayor of Alexandria. He was interested in politics and government since he was young. It was fun! We asked a lot of questions like how he became the mayor and what the mayor does and he happily answered all of them. He gave every single one of us paper bags with gifts in it, and one of the gifts was a cup that said, "City of Alexandria Virginia". It was fun meeting the mayor of our own city.

October 27, 2009
Today was a special day. We had two guest speakers, Patrick Freeman and Sandra Matoushaya. Patrick Freeman is from Ghana and he loves helping people  discover their hidden talents. Patrick told us that he is only one person so he cannot help everyone but if we all put our hands together, we can do a lot. Volunteering with your community in anyway is a good way to help others.

Nobody wants to have HIV. Some people in places like Africa have HIV without knowing it. Some people do not even know how to know if they have HIV or how to prevent it. This is how Sandra Matoushaya comes in. Sandra is from Zimbabwe and she wants to help people in Africa with HIV.

October 22, 2009
What is discrimination? Discrimination is when you are treated differently because of where you come from, what you believe in, gender, tradition and the color of your skin. Discrimination is wrong. Do not judge a book by its cover because you might misinterpret it. Before treating someone because of where he or she is from, what he or she believes in or the color of their skin...... and ask yourself, what if the same thing happens to you? You never know maybe that person might help you in the future. Why am I talking about discrimination? Today, our guest speaker, Paula Avila, came and spoke to us about discrimination.

Paula Avila is from Colombia and is an investigator at the Alexandria Office of Human Rights. She was discriminated against when she was younger and that's why she decided to grow up and stand up for those who are being discriminated.
 We shared stories about discrimination. Some people shared stories that they resolved and some shared stories that because of fear they never stood up for themselves.

  Shared Stories
     A girl from Ethiopia applied for a job and was told that they weren't hiring though there was a sign on the window that said help wanted. The next day, her Spanish friend was hired at the same place just because she spoke Spanish.

     A girl from Cameroon was trying to help an American boy get his quarters from the floor. When she picked them up, she gave it to him but he rudely said, "No keep it for the poor kids in Africa." So the girl threw the money back to the floor. The next day, the same boy asked the girl if Africans have clothes, and the girl stood up for herself and said, "If you wanna know more about Africa, you can always surf the net." Today, both the girl and the boy are friends.

It was fun and special having Paula with us.
Now that you know, watch what you say to others in the name of jokes. Some jokes are too expensive, some are funny and others are offensive. Stand up for yourself, talk to someone and if nothing is done about it, call Paula Avila.

Oct. 20, 2009
We in the Liberty's Promise at T.C Williams H.S had our fourth meeting and a second guest speaker, Lissette Pippy from JobLink. JobLink is by the Mark Center in Alexandria, VA. She talked to us about how to get a job with JobLink, the kind of jobs you can get with jobLink, etc. She also spoke with us about getting a job somewhere else, how to go for an interview, what kind of questions to ask and how to ask them, how to dress for an interview and what it takes to lose or keep a job. We asked a lot of questions and she happily answered all of them. It was fun having Lissette Pippy with us. After she left, as suggested last meeting, we went and ate pizza and drank to the fullest. Thanks to the person buying the pizza and the drinks and thanks to you all for reading our blog.

Email: Catherine.melton@acps.k12.va.us

web: www.TCWcollegeguide.wordpress.com

We ended the meeting today with suggestions from our President. President Sandra suggested that we eat pizza after or during our meeting because when we eat before in the cafeteria, people who are not in the club come and pretend to be new members, then after eating, they disappear.

Oct. 8, 2009 was our second meeting. It was very fun. We had pizza and drinks. We had a puzzle that stated a fact about somebody in the club. It allowed us to meet new people and people who got all the answers right got movie tickets. The nominees gave their speeches and we voted.

The Liberty's Promise club at T.C Williams H.S began on Oct. 6, 2009. We had free pizza and drinks. We talked about what Liberty's Promise is about, and what we will do in it. We played a game, that somebody says three things and we guess which is a lie. We talked about the responsibilities of the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Reporter. People were nominated and later called to write a campaign speech if they had the most nominations.