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For me, books open up a whole world of creativity, imagination and learning. I can be in my room reading and the next thing I know, I’m on Mars eating S’mores with aliens. So, when I was visiting the Bahamas with my parents and I learned that the town we were in didn’t have any libraries, I wanted to change that for the kids who lived there. But I wasn’t sure how. Then, one day, when we were in the car driving on the expressway in Miami, I saw a small lawn trailer and I thought, “I can convert that into my library!” I wanted something that was easy and portable.

With my parents’ help, I purchased a lawn trailer.  I asked a local artist to decorate it, and he did. I asked for books, and they were donated. And that’s how we turned the trailer into a mini-library where kids could grow, learn and be creative.

They did whatever needed doing. In the days after two Category 5 hurricanes slammed into the U.S. Virgin Islands—first Hurricane Irma, which tore off roofs and busted windows; then, Hurricane Maria, which brought storm surge and weeks of heavy rain—the local nonprofit, My Brother’s Workshop, jumped into action, no task too small. They started serving meals: 37,000 in the two months that followed the storms. Then, they quickly responded to the news that some 18,000 homes across the islands had been damaged or destroyed, many belonging to vulnerable residents with little to no resources. The Workshop, whose mission is to empower at-risk youth by placing them in real-life work scenarios and teaching life and business skills, mobilized volunteers and students to rebuild their islands, one house at a time.

When I began my Miami Fellows journey, I went into it with a mission: learn how I could use my skills and talents to bring about a better Miami. What I didn’t expect was the extent to which the Miami Fellows program would transform me and make me better.

Se te nan lane 2013. Mwen te yon jèn avoka ki te gen sizan depi l ap pratike dwa nan domèn swen sante epi ki te posede yon konpayi maketing evènman ki rele Social Esquire. Mwen te satisfè e rekonesan pou pòsyon pa m nan lavi a, men mwen te konnen tou ke pratike dwa pa t vrè vokasyon mwen.

A couple of months ago, I attended a story slam at Biscayne National Park. The event, supported by a Knight Arts Challenge grant, was part of a series of events celebrating the park’s 50th anniversary. I’d visited Biscayne Park before, but never at night. We roasted s’mores under the stars as people shared their personal stories from a dimly lit patch of grass that served as a stage.