Change is Positive

It isn’t everyday that the youth of our world are given a voice and the chance to impact society on a global scale. The growth portrayed when given an outlet for their voice and a purpose to their passion invokes much more than statistics or data on a paper. 

It creates unity. 

During the summer of 2025, The Ayin Project (TAP) granted a group of high school students overflowing with potential, the opportunity to ‘be the change’. The lack of clean water sources for citizens of Uganda has been a long-standing concern, and while there have been improvements made over the years, there are still stones left unturned. Not all solutions to the issue have been determined as of yet. There’s more discovery to do. So the torch is passed to the next generation, and it is with the adults guidance as mentors, that the teens roll up their sleeves and brace for impact. 

I had the absolute pleasure of working with Dr. Joshua Swartz, one of the key facilitators for the SHIRE internship program with The Ayin Project. In spring of 2023, Joshua Kurtz (TAP CEO) spoke to Dr. Swartz’ Interdisciplinary Science and Research (ISR) class about the importance of water quality, and what The Ayin Project stood for. This would evolve into curiosity as to what an internship and further collaboration could look like. It was a phone call in January of 2024 that would lead to a meeting between Mr. Kurtz, Dr. Swartz, and Vanderbilt CSEO personnel in February of 2024. By the end of the meeting, it was agreed that the SHIRE summer internship was to be! Three high schools and a group of mentors would come together to advocate for change, and in the process form a family. It was that summer of 2024 that SHIRE (Summer High-school Internship in Research Experiences) began. 

Dr. Swartz has a PhD in chemistry, has conducted research regarding malaria in mosquitoes, and has been a teacher for fourteen years. I met Dr. Swartz when I chose to take his ISR class in August of 2024, and I had the opportunity to work with him again at SHIRE in the summer of 2025 as well. He pushed us interns- a convergence of Juniors and Seniors from Nashville - to be better than who we thought we could be and to persevere in the face of hardship. Swartz taught me things that were valuable on a level that ascends beyond schoolwork. He taught me to care, and to direct my passion towards positive change. Swartz impacted not just me, but every intern he worked with. Two months after the bittersweet end of that summer, I had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Joshua Swartz. His perspective really highlighted why the TAP summer internship is so important, and how much of an impact it truly holds.

“We in society under-value youth”.

Swartz is a major advocate for the empowerment of the youth 🔗 , and the benefits that may be reaped when they are given the opportunity to address issues on a global scale. In his own words, “We in society under-value youth”. There are diamonds to be discovered amongst the unheard voices of the youth, and the summer internship was a prime example of that. When the high school interns were given an opportunity to tackle a real-world problem, there were unexpected, promising results.  Dr. Swartz is most proud of the growth he witnessed in the interns over the summer: “Being patient and going through the rough patches were worth it.” Good things take time, and it’s the waiting and looking back at the big picture that really shows you what it was all about. Even if desired results weren’t obtained, a family was formed. It is hard to put into words the reliance everyone had on each other - to properly depict the raw emotion exuded from everyone on the last day of the summer internship. That is what it was all about. Making connections- spreading the story- getting people to care. 

“I think we adults sometimes lose our love for life and get so caught up in the details that we forget to have fun.”

Oftentimes, caring so much can lead to unrealistic ideations of perfection. Swartz explained that, especially for adults, there are many expectations placed on things. They (the adults) want to make everyone happy. “I think we adults sometimes lose our love for life and get so caught up in the details that we forget to have fun.” So The Ayin Project took a group of young people with a thirst for life and dug a canal for the creativity to flow through. For the interns, it didn’t feel like work. The prospect of tackling a real-world problem and helping real people was huge…scary. The mentors were steadfast in their support, and those giant leaps were broken down into little steps that were more easily visualized. Something that had seemed impossible at the start of the summer became very real by the end. The integrity and love for others created outcomes better than what had initially been hoped for. There was purpose in everything done, and everyone was working towards that common goal of helping others. 

The interns were so enraptured with the things they were doing that they were willing to utilize their own personal time off-the-clock to wrap up the loose ends of their projects. People stayed late and came early because they were driven and wanted to. I asked Dr. Swartz what he thought was something parents should know about their children’s participation in SHIRE. He explained that it has a purpose. It put trust into a group of high schoolers and essentially said: A bunch of adults who have a whole lot more money, and a lot more time haven't figured it out yet. So what have you got? Dr. Swartz said, “The worst thing that happens is you try, you learn from it, you grow from it, and you become very much more aware of the world.” While the internship was potentially helping people abroad, it was simultaneously giving the interns a sense of responsibility. It required taking risks. Falling and getting back up, persevering through setbacks… it redefines failure 🔗 . It doesn’t focus on the enigma that the lack of success is equal to failure. The lack of success only means you haven’t found the right solution yet. A lesson that parents could glean from that is to let their children step a little beyond their comfort zone, because while it may seem scary initially, change is positive! 

“The worst thing that happens is you try, you learn from it, you grow from it, and you become very much more aware of the world.”

Dr. Swartz told me to ‘‘always have purpose in what you do’’. Have a vision for what you want to do, but be adaptable. Nothing is guaranteed. The different experiences you accumulate and the different people you meet will open new doors. It cultivates growth. At the end of the day, you take all of this back with you and reflect. Now I am a different version of myself. 

‘‘...always have purpose in what you do’’

The mentors of SHIRE pave the way for the youth as they face the world and take risks. Their drive turns its hungry gaze to the far corners of the world- to the things that await. Dr. Swartz hopes to see The Ayin Project evolve to gain further outreach, the message must be spread. There are real issues out there that should be addressed on a larger scale, that should receive more focus. Though the tides recede or rise and the leaves turn color, tadpoles turn to frogs and children go from pull-ups to lab coats… change is positive. 

Thank you, mentors. Thank you Dr. Swartz!

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