PROFILES
A friend and advocate Green started at the program when she was in eighth grade, through the recommendation of a teacher. She went on to create the column “ e Gap According to Green” which explored a student’s perspective on the achievement gap. e experience exposed her to academic inequalities, lack of teacher expectations for minorities and other disadvantages that her peers were not commonly aware of. “I did a ton of research on the topic,” she shares. “It opened my eyes to how big of an issue this was. It became important to me that I guide and educate others about it.” Simpson Street Free Press has now grown to incorporate youth from all over Dane County. It gives students of every demographic the kind of support and attention they might not be getting during a school day. While the participants don’t know each other’s backgrounds, they all share the aspiration to become better writers and better students. “ e kids are ambitious and intelligent,” Green says. “ eir voices get lost in the bigger conversations, but they shouldn’t. ey have ideas that need to be heard.” Looking ahead Green also works to build community relations and incorporate the program with school districts and public libraries. She’s currently trying to create a system that would allow kids to get high school credit through participation at the press. Her devotion to improving academic opportunities in her community has led to a recent nomination for the 2016 YWCA Woman of Distinction Award. e award is presented to females who show outstanding achievement within their professional elds. Green admits that she was surprised to be recognized for the honor. “I know a lot of the women who were nominated and it’s incredible to be included with them. ey all do great work for the community,” she says. While proud of the recognition of her work so far, she still believes there’s a lot more progress to be made. “We hope to grow diversity in journalism and across all elds on a wide scale. Students are exposed to media right now that doesn’t always represent them accurately or give their perspective fairly. ey want to change that and I hope to help.”
discussions. Green believes that writing can help eliminate some of the limitations faced by minority students who may feel incapable of expressing themselves or unheard when they try to. “It gives them condence when they see their article published with a byline,” she says. “It’s a place where they can feel like they’ve accomplished something.”
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