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The Center for Asian Studies co-sponsored Malala Yousafzai’s visit to ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ for the Conference on World Affairs in April. Teachers who participated in CAS’s South, Southeast, and West Asia (SSEWA) Outreach Program’s professional development workshop on Afghanistan were invited to bring their students to an exclusive livestream event at the Limelight Hotel in Boulder.

Today, we’re featuring reflections from two Boulder high school teachers who attended with their students.

Fairview High School

On Thursday, April 16, roughly 30 Fairview High School students and staff had the great fortune to attend an overflow event at the Limelight Hotel in Boulder to hear Malala Yousafzai’s Conference on World Affairs’ closing talk.��

It was incredible. The youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Malala talked about advocating for girls’ education, building schools around the world, and standing up for what you believe in, all in a clear, relatable, and inspiring way.�� She also shared her love of weightlifting, wearing jeans, and her experience balancing an active social life with the academic demands of studying at Oxford University.

Many Fairview students in attendance said that seeing Malala “live” was a dream come true. They described Malala as their personal hero and the reason they are activists.�� Ninth-grader Cressa Stricklan said, “Her message has inspired me to take more action on issues that I see.”�� Senior Elleanna Voran reflected that “it was really poignant when [Malala] said it’s not about a leader but about the cause that the leader’s bringing people together for.”�� Elleanna also appreciated Malala’s reminder that solving problems takes hard work and persistence, and you must “keep working and keep trying.”��

Ninth grader Aspen Corff, who grew up in Australia, recalled that Malala features prominently in the Australian primary school curriculum.��Aspen appreciated that the lessons Malala learned about balancing social and academic life in college also apply to high schoolers.�� “You can feel very isolated in trying to evoke change,” Aspen noted, “but we need to push forward and express our ideas in a louder and bolder way.”��

Meanwhile, junior Domenica Plaza Homiston said that she genuinely teared up listening to Malala speak. “Hearing someone like Malala describe the same identity crisis I experienced was incredibly refreshing. I am Chilean-American, and I am so proud of my Latino heritage, yet I have felt so out of place recently.�� Hearing a similar experience from Malala's life at Oxford felt so beautiful, and to be able to relate to someone so central to advocacy at that level.�� I left feeling with no doubts about who I am, because there is no ‘should be.’”��

Everyone in our group received a free copy of Malala’s new book, Finding My Way.��It felt as if she were personally thinking about us watching from the overflow event.�� The evening was just so fantastic and inspiring, and we were all quite moved!

Vanessa Carroll
Grad+ Site Lead, Graduation Specialist, and Gifted and Talented Advisor
Fairview High School

Boulder High School

We want to thank the Center for Asian Studies for inviting our group from Boulder High School to the livestream of Malala’s keynote. Fifteen students came and were really inspired by Malala’s words!

We liked the back-and-forth interview style versus having Malala speak for an hour straight. It kept us engaged and made Malala seem more like a real person instead of a talking head. We loved how down-to-earth and open Malala was, with no pretensions. In fact, we liked how she addressed how hard it is to be “normal” when you have celebrity status. We especially loved her message of how simple youth activism may seem, but how complicated it can get.��

Malala’s story about wearing jeans also served as an important reminder that we, as teachers, should not engage in stereotypes even from famous spokespeople from a region and religion.��

It was a great evening to get to know this more personal side of Malala, a young woman who, despite being a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has faced many of the same challenges of growing up as anyone else.��

Here is a photo of my students showing off their copies of Malala’s memoir. They were so excited to get a free book!

Roberta Spray

Teacher of Social Studies
Model UN Advisor
Boulder High School

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