Students from near and far work at Grow Selma garden
Published 10:33 pm Thursday, March 17, 2016
Pictured from left to right are R.B. Hudson Middle School students April Bell, Derrick Hatcher, Travion Johnson, Grow Selma volunteer Victor Shaw R’ryanna DeVille.
Students from near Boston joined those from R.B. Hudson Middle School to work at the Grow Selma community garden on Thursday. Students from Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts joined the local middle schools students for a day of work and learning.
The Boston group was traveling as part of a learning group Excel. Students dedicate their spring breaks to learn about different people, places and things across the world.
Xavier Welch is a seventh grade student at the school and a member of Excel. He said he has experienced a real culture shock in his trip to Selma for a civil rights tour.
“It’s been a lot of fun and really educational. I have learned about the Civil Rights Movement by actually going to the places where it happened. Seeing the sites makes it a lot more real for me,” Welch said.
Excel members from the Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts are pictured with R.B. Hudson Middle School students at the Grow Selma community garden.
Every student of Noble and Greenough has to have 80 hours of community service before they graduate.
Xavier says he does community service back at home often.
“It’s pretty important to me. Doing community service here in a new place is a lot of fun. The south has a completely different culture than the north. I’m learning a lot of stuff along with it,” Welch said.
Glenda Davis works at R.B. Hudson Middle School and said she believes her students had a great time showing the Excel group around Selma and joining them in community service.
“I think it was really awesome and gives a good perspective for both groups. We have had some great activities for the kids to get to know each other. I hope the kids took an experience of southern hospitality,” Davis said.
R.B. Hudson student R’ryanna DeVille said it was great to meet the Excel group.
“It was very interesting to do community service with them. I was happy to volunteer and show them around Selma. It was very fun. The kids from Massachusetts were very smart and intelligent and I enjoyed sharing knowledge and gaining some from them,” DeVille said.
Excel member Angie Gabeau said her favorite part of the trip was learning about civil rights activists.
“It has been very eye-opening. There were a lot of things I didn’t know before I came here. I learned about people that paved the way for the freedom we have now,” Gabeau said.
