Story Works Alaska allows youth to find their voice

KTVA.com The Voice of Alaska April 9, 2018

Summary

ANCHORAGE, AK — Since 2014, more than 1,500 students at high schools in Anchorage and Unalakleet have learned to tell their personal stories as part of Story Works Alaska.

*Story Works Presents…An Evening of Student Stories*

“The students get to work on and share these stories,” Bartlett High School English teacher Alysyn Thibault said. “Some of them are really funny. I heard a really great story about third-degree burns from a hot pocket. Other are really heart wrenching, like the student who went to Standing Rock and stood up for her beliefs and her homeland. Students who come out about their sexuality, school bullying– there is an incredible variety– just like the kids themselves.”

One senior at Bartlett High School, Daanis Teeple, told about her experience at Standing Rock, North Dakota.

“I feel this is pretty important because it gives me a platform,” Teeple said. “I’ve never told my story like this before. This is so good for important social issues.”