I’m Aidan, an eighth grader at Brooklyn East Collegiate. I love to play basketball and video games, and messing with my mom and sister. My family is from Panama and my mom works at Kings Collegiate, another Uncommon School. I am applying to a boarding school called Brewster Academy. My favorite book is The Hunger Games, which is about a survival game that escalates into a revolution to escape the dystopia they characters are caught in. I really admire is LeBron James because he became one of the most successful basketball players ever. He just recently won his fourth NBA championship. When I grow up I too want to be a professional basketball player just like him. I have always loved the sport and take it very seriously.

One of my favorite quotes is “Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This quote reminds me that you can only make change with positivity and nonviolence. People expect to make change with violence, but it only brings more destruction. 

I joined BEC2BAMA because I wanted a new experience. I wanted to learn about the past and meet the people who experienced it, who faced obstacles and overcame them. I might be given a chance to even create my own history and take part in movements for change. I want to go to Alabama and Georgia because meeting the foot soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement will give me a truer understanding of the past. The foot soldiers were on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement and their stories will provide a map for change I want to bring about.