The Connections Crew Takes To Open Discussions – a Recap

On November 19th, RARE’s Open Discussions Committee presented a panel of students who, like many of RARE’s founders over the age of 50 before them, had stepped out of their comfort zones to do the honorable work of meeting, interacting, and working with others of different backgrounds and experiences.

The students are veterans of RARE’s Connections program in which students at Roosevelt High School and Garfield High School build bridges, learn new skills, and foster a greater sense of belonging in their schools.

Three Connections students, their leader, a number of former students of Seattle’s Voluntary Racial Transfer Program, as well as others involved in RARE, met for a lively online Open Discussion, the final one of 2025.

The Connections panelists were Vicki, a Roosevelt graduate and current student at Western Washington University; Noah, also a RHS grad and current student at Shoreline College; and Dulce, a current Garfield student participating in the Running Start Program at Seattle Central College.

Also joining the panel was the students’ leader, Youth Engagement Coordinator, Ms. Amber Inwood. (Ms. Amber, as she is known to the Connections’ students, had requested that the students involved in this Open Discussion had only their first names used to protect their privacy.)

After the Land and Labor Acknowledgment was read, RARE Board Member and moderator for the evening’s discussion, TaRessa Stovall, warmly greeted the panel and audience members. She expressed the great amount of pride RARE has for Connections, and “of the work that is does, of the people who are involved, and of the lessons that are being learned and taught along the way.”

TaRessa  introduced the chair of RARE’s Connections Committee, Tim Hennings, who thanked the students for participating in the Open Discussion and introduced a short Connections promo video.

Tim then introduced Ms. Amber. She explained how Connections teaches skills that allow students to “create a community that is a brave space” and “for them to rely on each other. But it’s also a space to be able to make mistakes as they go along and broaden their lens with how to create a community at their respective school which is more inclusive and makes everyone feel they belong.”

After learning various skills, Ms. Amber said, it was time for the students to put their “boots to the ground”. And that is the time when Connections students can earn their 60 hours of required service time by doing a number of specific jobs: supporting other students by planning and leading a field trip, peer tutoring, or assisting a new student who is having difficulty meeting new friends, just to name a few.

“Field trips gave us an opportunity to put our skills to work.”    – Noah, Connections Crew

Ms. Amber then introduced The Crew, the team name that Connections students had given themselves. Vicki, Noah, and Dulce all fielded questions. Each praised the program and Ms. Amber, who Noah said was Connections’ “foundation”.

Vicki noted that the benefits derived from Connections were much more than merely the 60 service hours. She learned leadership and communication skills.

“It (Connections) is truly a place where we’re building a comforting learning environment… and we really do build connections with other people.”  – Vicki, Connections Crew

Vicki noted how Connections helped her combat “senior-itis”.  “We (the Crew) became more organized, and I got a lot more locked in with my work.”

Noah said that he used to shy away from people, but after an initial sense of awkwardness he came to see Connections as a safe place.

“After doing the program,” he said, “I’m more open to people and ideas. I used to be really shy…but after doing the program I take initiative and communicate first.”

“It helped broaden my viewpoints and opened doors.”  – Noah, Connections Crew

Dulce credits Ms. Amber for helping her overcome that shyness. “She made it easier for me to share my ideas with other people I’ve never interacted with.” Being in Running Start and away from Garfield had left Dulce with a sense of isolation. Connections gave her the opportunity to meet others. She enjoyed working with others in the Crew, and the way each had taken on his or her own leadership style. She too felt a deep sense of belonging.

When asked to recount some of their favorite activities, all three mentioned games played and field trips taken with Crew members from both Garfield and Roosevelt. Noah enjoyed learning about Native cultures of the Northwest at the Burke Museum on the University of Washington campus. Dulce and Vicki loved the Flight Museum.

Tim Hennings asked for the students’ opinions as to how Connections could be “beefed up”.  All three called for expanding Connections to other schools, a suggestion that resonated with Tim.

The Crew gained focus and purpose from their time with Connections. Vicki is in her freshmen year at Western with an eye on political science and law school. Noah is looking forward to working in health care. And Dulce would like to get involved in social work.

Before the Open Discussion ended, the students asked some of the former Voluntary Racial Transfer students about their experiences busing across town to a primarily white school some 50 years ago.

Vicki wanted  to know what some of their reactions and feelings were, going to Roosevelt. Allan opened up. “Until I went to Roosevelt, I didn’t know I was a minority. The thing is, it prepared me for  the real world.” That real world turned out to be Virginia where he had to face racism and what he called Americanism. “People didn’t believe I was American. I was born and raised in America! They would say, ‘Oh, your English, you just speak pretty good.’ You know, that kind of stuff, but that’s okay…You have to expect that. And the thing is, is that it’s about how you react to that.” Roosevelt, he said, prepared Allan for Virginia, where he became the first Filipino American dentist to practice in that Commonwealth.

Noah asked how being at a predominantly white school affected the VRT students’ racial groups. Again, Allan answered. “We got real close,” he said. “At lunch, I knew who I was gonna sit with.”

He hung out with Joe Hunter, now the chair of RARE and the late James Davis, for whom RARE’s annual scholarship is named. “And so, right then, right off the bat, I say, look, man, we have to make sure that we need to be our best so that everybody becomes better off…. We could have been part of the problem, or part of the  solution.” All three chose the latter.

Michelle Fields knew she was a minority when she was bused to Eckstein Junior High School in the late 1960’s. “I would say you might have had ten Black people in the whole school,” she said. Michelle learned to cope with the ignorance and racism she encountered. “By the time I got to Roosevelt I knew what to do. The one thing I will say that I liked about going to Roosevelt was the education I got…The voluntary transfer program… it teaches you how to work with white people. I’m gonna be straight up…and so going to the school taught me how to work, to get where I needed to go.”

For TaRessa Stovall, going to Roosevelt was like “going to a different planet.” She was struck by the vast amount of wealth she encountered. “It was so different. And not only because the students were mostly white, but many of them were wealthy. That was more than the racial part. That was the biggest cultural adjustment for me, getting used to that. They’d go skiing in Colorado for the weekend and come back with a tan or a broken limb. Anyway, it was crazy…that was completely foreign to me.”

Joe Hunter, who as an adult was a JC Penney’s manager in charge of a $360 million dollar district, credited his success in the business world to Roosevelt’s experiences of “navigating with folks who might have been uncomfortable with me.” He was grateful to his fellow transfer students with whom he could talk and at times commiserate. He laments that many of the students of color at Roosevelt today don’t have that tight community.

Dulce asked about the bus ride and was astounded when Allan told her that he and others took Metro rather than a yellow school bus.

Joe Hunter expounded: “You know, there was all of us, you know, all Black and Asian, and we’re all on the same bus. We were a community going from one community to another community.”

And all for the better.

Making connections that would endure for decades.

————————-

To view the recording of RARE’s Connections Crew Open Discussion, click here.