 I'm Tom Handel with a CTN member highlight, and today I am with Bezia, and we're here to talk about Bright Future, which is an ongoing club at Portland High School that Bezia started four years ago as part of Project Bezia. So just to get started with, could you tell us who's in Bright Future and what it's about? Bright Future, since we started like four years ago, we focused with the kids in our school after the program, after the school. One of the things we focused on was how they can be succeed in a high school and even to the level of the college. That was the big concern. And the name even came out was one of the boys of Brownie, was one of the students, Ben. They used to have a brother, we called them twins. The one came out was at the name, and we started to continue. And can anyone in Portland High School join this club, or is it specifically for you? No, for everybody. We used to have kids from South America. We used to have kids from Russia. So it's mostly focused on people who are new to this country. New in this country. The purpose is very important is how to educate them to understand American system. And the other hot part of it is, I know the system requests, you know, they have to go to college. But sometimes, them language, it doesn't help them to get to college. Because back in the day, the United States used to do different things like African. If you don't pass the class, you don't go to the next class. But right now, they're working by the age. So this is one of the things I would raise this concern. This will create the debt in the United States system, especially in the education part. We're bringing multi-culture from different backgrounds, and now we respect them by age to go up, up, up. In the end of that, they will start, they will get long, and they can't continue. So one of the reasons we started focus of bringing other jobs like the Ben, saving Ben came out of a different Korea, they would come and talk to them. Now the first year, first year you started with a scouting project in conjunction with the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office. What was that about? That was about how to engage those kids to the system of the law. And one of the things that was up in North, and it's a new community of all that white community. Even when the kids were in there, it was a white kids, it was like they never met. And it was really more interesting the face, they would take two of them, or three of them was brought together to be in that program. So they learned how to understand the law, to understand the system, and they get uniform, they can be willing to work in the traffic. So it was a good skill to have them there. Yeah, so they got a taste of what it was like to be in the law enforcement career. Were any of them encouraged to then become, you know, pursue that as a career? Yeah, that's a career. One of them, Ben, is already right now in college, and he's going to proceed in career in the law enforcement. That's what he's doing. And that's that form where we just encourage them to get them involved in American society, because really the truth is America is built in multi-culture. Now that was the first year, and you started to talk about, like in the second year, you started to get more into employment and careers with the Norway Savings Bank. How did that go? The first thing was very important how to react them to the bank and to understand how the bank accept people. One of the things we started with the interview. In the United States, when you talk with somebody, you need to make sure your eyes is connected to them. If you start looking down, in African culture, it's just like more respect. But in American society, they will look at you in your line. So we did, through the bank, to teach them, when you go to the interview, you need to be dressed for fashion, you need to shake hand good, you need to make sure when you talk to the person, look at him eyes. Because when you look down, they think you're lying, you're not saying what you're saying. And that was a hard part to teach those students in high school to be able to understand when you came to the job, there's a process of how you go to the interview, and how you shake hand, and how to connect your eyes with other people. So that's what we're facing, we'll train them, and I will encourage them, because they have different languages. We have a lot of students that have five, six languages. So we look at it, bank is to be good position for them. They can have a job from the high school to the bank. That's great. Yeah, that's the one thing we're pushing for that. And some a lot of kids know their interest to be in the bank. But also, those interview skills are good for any kind of interview here. That's really important for people to identify the cultural difference. I can see looking down, I could see how that might be a sign of respect somewhere else. But here, it looks like you're shy or afraid or something like that. That's really great. Yeah. And I know that in the third year, I was somewhat involved, because a group of students came here to learn how to use video equipment and get involved with television. You want to talk a little bit about why you did that? Yeah, that's one of the reasons we did it about the hijab, because it's the face of Muslim in this country, and there's a lot of stuff. But we just picked one Pacific hijab, why the young lady became half hijab in Islamic face. And one of the things, we use that two way to do it, to train some student to be in the city to be know how to do the video. But we put hijab, it can be an example, because they're coming from the background of Islamic face. And it was really more interesting, even after the city had done that, when we tried to give that video to the different community, because to understand why Muslim have hijab for the young girl. Yeah, that was really amazing to have that. And even we encourage other community to know, our American Pacific or other community to know why the young girl in Muslim community will have hijab. And it really was more impact to have that. I was really, really happy to work on that, because I've never heard anybody, especially female Muslims, talk about why wearing a hijab is so important to them. There were so many different reasons. And these young women, they were so enthusiastic about talking about their own faith and their own ideas about that, that it was really... And so, have you seen a different, from the different places, that those videos... Really, this video made a lot of impact, even we put it online, we put it on our website. And then, I believe we asked for five or six copies to give to other community. And they were more happy to fill this young girl did something to show people why they have hijab in the first place. And because sometimes you see somebody, like sometimes people ask them, oh, did you sleep with that? You know, it's kind of a weird question. But you know, and they be polite to ask them, no, just for my face, but when I sleep or when I'm taking a shower, I can't have it. But you know, in some cases, they would ask them sometimes. It's kind of a funny question, but they never take it like person. And we get a chance to explain to them, they'll not feel bad when somebody asks you. But sometimes in the United States, some cases are kind of weird, but that's the way it goes. But just don't take it person, not the way. Yeah, yeah. It's important not to take any of these things personally. People just, they speak out of ignorance, but you know, there's a reason for it. And once we understand, especially face to face, it helps a lot. So what is the future of bright future? When does the group meet and what are the things that you're looking for? We do all the time between 2.45, we start until 4.30 or 4.20. It's like between one hour and one hour and a half. Through this, like I said, we teach them how to be a good citizen in the United States and how to succeed. And even we out last year, Cascope Bridge, we take them to that bridge welding machine. Now we have more than three students already have a job there. Wow. Yeah. It's like 20 hours to start. So one other thing, go back to what I was talking about, the college. I'm not against the college, but some of those kids, they don't have a skill to get to college. That's why I create the system. And I wish in this interview, if anybody in the government and legislation, you have to listen to what I just said. It's very important. We can help these kids to do other career before they go to college. And then later on they can go to college because college is open. You're a 10-year, you're 100-year, you can go to college. But don't engage and tell them you have to in the beginning. And we know a lot of the kids come in in a different background. It's a big cultural shift. Right. So a lot of us grow up thinking, right after high school, college, right after high school, college. But it's not. Now you're going to get along, get to college and you start, and then they get upset in the system and almost tell them and make a joke to them. Government is not the building, it's the people. Yeah. Right. Well, that sounds like a great project. It sounds like some of the things that people learn, even if they're not coming from another country are helpful to learn job learning skills and expressing themselves. That's all great that you're doing. So what we're doing, even we'll try next year, we're going to be in dealing. We just keep in connect with them. Maybe in this year, we'll have other date of, because this one in high school, we do in Monday, we're hoping to do in dealing on Wednesday. Oh, great. Great. So to be the same skill and at the same time, we'll try to connect them to meet one a month. Maybe for breakfast, I would say, because we'll almost take them to dinner, to other. Because right now, if you're a licensed time in the United States, you don't see migrant a lot in Diana or other. Sometimes it's a bearing of the language. We encourage that too. And then like we trust, we'll try to encourage them because if they have a job like we trust, they'll be able to be associated with Americans. Right. Well, that's great. It's a great program that you're doing and I appreciate it. Thanks for coming in. No problem. Thank you. See you all the time.