On July 13, 2022, Youth Advocacy Summer Institute (YASI) 2022 interns were part of the Anti-Bullying Coalition Resource Fair in The Bronx.
Heissel’s Fair Experience
On Wednesday 13 July, I attended the Anti-Bullying fair. I was nervous when they told me I would be at the registration table but at the same time, I thought this was a good place where I would get out of my comfort zone. I originally joined YASI because I wanted to learn more about the community but also we were going to advocate for the community. This included communication skills which is something I want to improve on. Being at the fair was an excellent experience for me. At the start, everyone was welcoming. There was a lot of unity when it came to setting up for the fair. It seemed like everyone knew each other. I liked my schedule and helping out. They took me and another colleague and they explained to us step by step. We had to ask for their name, and contact info, and explain to them how to enter the raffle that they had at the fair. I got to meet a lot of people with different personalities. I also learned that being bilingual is a really good communication skill. Initially, I was supposed to be in registration from 10 a.m to 11 a.m. Then go off for an hour to lunch, help out in the water station, and back to registration. Although they changed my schedule because they needed someone who spoke Spanish in registration. This allowed me to be constantly interacting with others which were amazing and I enjoyed it.
At the end of the Day, I was at the registration table. I can say That my favorite thing was being able to interact with the different communities and peers from YASI. I had so much fun greeting everyone. This also opened my eyes to see the necessities of the different communities. I think this was also a great opportunity that allowed me to help my community and it made me feel part of it, which is a great feeling. One thing that I would say was a little downfall was when we ran out of water and the temperature. I think that it was really hot that day. There weren’t many carpets to cover the other tables or where all the community members were walking. On top of that, there wasn’t enough water so a lot of people who were looking for water didn’t receive a water bottle. This could affect the health of others.
Overall I enjoyed the fair and had a great experience. I would totally invite friends and tell them to join us!
By: Heissel Ajsivinac
Kevin’s Fair Experience
I had a fantastic experience at the Anti-Bullying Resource Fair as I got to walk around and communicate with those at different stations and learn more from them. Helping the hosts and my own group set everything up was also a wonderful experience because I got to bond with my internship members and people I didn’t know. I enjoyed the registration table because I got to communicate with members of the community, learn where they came from and see why they were interested in this fair. Unlike many other members of my internship that had some negative community members come along, my side was pretty chill. My least favorite moments at that station were the intense heat on my back and the wind that kept blowing everything around.
Overall, I had a great time at the Anti-Bullying Resource Fair but there are some things I would do differently. If I had more time, I would’ve liked to explore more stations and talk to the people there. During the morning I was busy helping out and in the afternoon there were too many people moving in and out, so it was difficult to explore. If I had the chance, I would’ve liked to help out more because I didn’t do all that much in the afternoon. One thing I really disliked was how they didn’t have tents for everyone on such a scorching day and how they ran out of water after 1pm.
By: Kevin Zhang
Youth Advocacy Corps 