Hirsch

The most powerful moments from the Field Academy this summer happened when we least expected them. 
 
It happened when we, 15 bedraggled travelers, were welcomed with open arms into the First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain. It happened when the kind folks there offered us fried chicken and chocolate cake - home-cooked manna of the gods - and front-row seats to that evening's youth spoken word performance. 
 
It happened as we listened to the young people of JP that night - listened to their proud stories of race and sexuality and injustice, of identity and power and home. Those words that night became the textbook and teacher for our trip; they became our lantern and our ladder. 
 
The Field Academy doesn't make events like this happen. But somehow this summer, we always seemed to show up at the right time to bear witness to that magic. That's why the Field Academy matters. 

Hirsch taught Citizenship and Leadership on the 2015 writing intensive exploration of New England. She lives in North Carolina where she is pursuing a degree in social work counseling so that she can continue to listen to young people tell their stories.