Randy Fortes asks the groups sitting in circles around the gymnasium to put their knees together and instantly everyone gets a little closer.
Fortes is one of two Challenge Day leaders who ran Grade 9 students as well as adults from around the community through his organization's program this past week at the Estevan Comprehensive School. From Oct. 29 to Oct. 31 in Estevan and Nov. 1 in Lampman, students experienced what it means to be the change, as the program encourages students to share their stories so their peers can see how life is different for everyone.
Fortes was in Estevan last March when Challenge Day was first introduced to the school. He returned with fellow Challenge Day leader Gina Pernini last week.
"It's amazing. I love coming back to a school," said Fortes after last Monday's session. "(The students) came in pretty anxious and there was a lot of resistance in the beginning, but once they get that we are actually really here for them, that it's about them and we really do care. As soon as we get past that everybody is fully involved."
He said it's typical for the students to be shy or perhaps intimidated at the start of the day because Challenge Day turns many social norms on their head.
"What we're doing here is going against the grain of what normal culture is. We're talking about being real," said Fortes. "We're talking about getting beyond the image, (because) in high school that's the thing. You have to find your clique, find your group and uphold the image of who people stamped you to be or who you are as a jock or a cheerleader, like you fit into these little boxes. We're actually asking them to step out of that and be real."
Moira Grayson, an ECS teacher, participated in the event on Monday and said it's always interesting to see students evolve over the course of the day.
"Friends are really clinging together (at the start), and then gradually throughout the day they tend to get more relaxed and start to have some fun and also start to open up a little bit," she said. "By the end of the day, everyone has experienced what it's like to be the other people in the room and have an understanding of why they feel the way they do."
The message Fortes hopes students will cling to is the organization's slogan, Be the Change.
"It's about not standing there and just waiting for someone else to do this for you," he said. "It's about saying, 'no, I have the power to actually create change in the school and change in my life. All I have to do is step into it.' It's about empowering them and giving them permission to step into that power."
He said young people may have something to say but may also feel that it isn't their place to provide input.
"Speak from your heart, speak what's real and own your truth. Be you," Fortes said of his advice for students.
Grayson spoke to some of the adult volunteers from the community who came in for the day, and found they were surprised at how much they got out of the program as well.
"At the end of the day it was really nice to be able to thank them, because kids often think that the community doesn't know about them and doesn't really care about them, and this just proves that's not true. There are so many adults willing to step up and be there for them."
At the end of the day there are a lot of tears and a lot of hugs. The leaders ask all the participants to stand up, look around and give a hug to someone they have shared an experience with that day. It's something Fortes still loves to see.
"It's rewarding for my heart," he said. "To really be able put your heart into something and feel that reciprocated and get it back from the students. When I see them step out of themselves and see them do something they may not usually do, like apologize or say thank you to someone that reminds me that the power of human beings is boundless."
The Challenge Day group from San Francisco will be back at ECS the next two years to include the next crop of Grade 9 students.
