One Student’s Choice, A World of Connection

July 21, 2026

Some classroom moments begin as simple ideas, and you never realize how far they’ll travel.

Back in May, I introduced a March Madness-style poetry competition with my students in Ohio. Each student anonymously selected a favorite poem, and together we debated, voted, and worked our way through a tournament bracket until one poem emerged as the champion.

One of those poems was “Don’t Quit” by Edgar Guest.

At the time, it was simply a classroom activity designed to give students voice and choice while building an appreciation for poetry. I had no idea that one student’s decision would eventually travel more than 8,000 miles.

As I prepared for my Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms experience in the Philippines, I learned that my partner teacher would be teaching poetry during the first part of the school year. I shared my poetry bracket activity and several of the poems my students had chosen. She selected Don’t Quit to share with her Grade 7 students.

The response was incredible.

Her students didn’t just read the poem—they connected with it. They chose to memorize the first stanza because its message of perseverance resonated with them. Watching students in another country embrace the same poem that one of my Ohio students had selected was one of those unexpected Fulbright moments I’ll never forget.

When I shared this story with my former student, Mya, and her mom, Mya graciously recorded a video encouraging the students in the Philippines to never give up on their dreams. Suddenly, the connection grew even stronger. Students who had never met were encouraging one another through the power of words, kindness, and shared experiences.

This is what global education looks like.

Throughout this Fulbright journey, I’ve continued to reflect on my driving question:

How do students use their voice, choices, and local experiences to take ownership of their learning and develop as leaders who create change in their local and global communities?

This experience reminded me that leadership doesn’t always begin with a grand project. Sometimes it begins with one student’s choice.

One student selected a poem.

One teacher shared it.

Another group of students found hope in its message.

And a young woman in Ohio reached across an ocean to encourage students she has never met.

Voice creates opportunity.

Choice creates connection.

Leadership inspires others.

As educators, we never truly know which lesson, activity, or conversation will become the one students carry with them. Sometimes the smallest classroom moments become the ones that travel the farthest.

To me, that’s what Fulbright is all about—building bridges between classrooms, cultures, and communities, reminding us that although we live in different parts of the world, the things that inspire us are often beautifully the same.