In the winter of my sophomore year, deep in COVID-19, I received an email about Natick High School’s first ever Equity Co-op. All I knew was that it was a designated day for students to learn about equity from their peers. I was invited to lead a workshop team as a member of Peer Advocates. We developed a presentation on identity and stereotypes. As a sophomore, I was nervous when I learned I was assigned to present to a group of seniors, but it ended up being a great experience.

The first Equity Co-op ended up running smoothly. After student feedback, we started using a new platform, Sched, and decided to let students pick the workshops they wanted to attend, and they would attend two each instead of just one. Many COVID-19 regulations were lifted, and Natick Public Schools became mask-optional, which allowed us to enjoy an in-person keynote speaker in 2022.

That year, I was also elected FBLA President. I felt that it was my responsibility to eventually bring FBLA into the Equity Co-op. I have always been passionate about creating a change in my Natick High community, and I wanted to find the intersection between economics (a business science) and equity.  I created a simulation on systemic racism for the 2022 Equity Co-op on behalf of FBLA, similar to the Game of Life. Students were assigned to be rich or poor. They had access to different opportunities, demonstrating how a lack of resources in one area gets people trapped in a cycle. The workshop was so popular that I trained 10 members so we could present to 250 students. The content was so compelling that I was selected to present to middle school teachers at their professional development.

I wanted to continue my work this year. I knew that last year’s participants really enjoyed the interactive component of the workshop so I decided to stick with a game again. I focused on housing inequities, which expanded so that it would expand upon the knowledge of students who attended the workshop last year, but also made sense to our newer participants. Based on the feedback and my observations of presenters, I changed up the game so that the rules would be simpler, but more space in the room would be used, making it more interactive.

For our workshop, students were divided into two groups. Our workshop was rigged so that one group would successfully succeed in challenges presented, ultimately ending up living in a “rich neighborhood,” while the other group had the odds stacked against them and ultimately lived in a “poor neighborhood,” which emerged from a small corner barricaded by desks to the hallway throughout the course of the game. The engagement of the 250+ students who signed up for the workshop allowed this project to truly shine. Overall, I feel proud, knowing that I am able to help so many students break down such a complex topic in a way everyone could understand. I have truly enjoyed seeing the Equity Co-op from its start evolve into what it is today.