High school students in Tijuana and San Diego co-created a digital magazine called ‘Amistad.’ The e-zine captured the explorations of teenagers separated by a border yet bonded through journalistic pursuits covering art, food, photo essays, music, and more.
They met in person for the first time at the exhibition of the joint publishing project between students at The Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs High Tech High (San Diego) and Instituto México Americano Noroeste (Tijuana). The exhibition was the culmination of a day full of classroom visits, tours of the building, and interactions among the teens from the two countries.
“I thought this project was a beautiful learning experience,” said Kai Estrada, HTH co-editor of Amistad, in her magazine introduction. “I noticed my classmates were nervous to speak to students from a whole different country, worried that we might not all communicate clearly in English or in Spanish. ‘How would that go?’ Many feelings were expressed throughout the process, but I feel everyone got more and more excited when they got deeper into their projects.”
Jack Brooks, also an HTH co-editor, noted in the first issue that the students were able to overcome challenges such as completely different spring breaks. “Each student got to contribute in a way that they’re proud of,” he said. “Everyone was super supportive of each other during the process and we navigated any obstacles in our way. We all got to play a part in this amazing project, and it’s more than what we could have hoped for. I’m so glad that I got to work with all of these amazing people, and create something spectacular.”
At the May exhibition, HTH hosted 17 IMAN students, and six teachers and parents. See video about the project here.
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