Three Central High School teens join international student-led team examining global coronavirus impact – News – MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA

Three Central Massachusetts students are among the 12 high school students in the state participating in a virtual-American-Iraq international exchange program and public health initiative to address COVID-19.

Garima Prabhakar, 17, of Shrewsbury, Himasri Shappaly, 16, of South Grafton, and Ishita Goluguri, 16, of Westborough, are all part of the “American-Iraqi Public Health Teams Addressing the COVID-19 Project.”

All three students attend the Massachusetts Academy of Mathematics and Science in Worcester. They are working virtually with 96 other high school student volunteers in the United States and Iraq, through video conferencing.

The Joint Nonprofit Program organized this program, which is supported by a grant from the Stevens Initiative and the U.S. Department of State. The program lasts until August 31st.

“It’s basically a collaborative initiative between students in Iraq and here in the US,” Prabhakar said. “It is a cornerstone project where we study global health issues, focusing on COVID-19.”

During the six-week program, which began last week, students will conduct in-depth studies on how the coronavirus has impacted global health and culture.

“When I hear coronavirus, the first thing I think about is how it affects the individual or how it affects everyone in terms of treatment and care,” Prabhakar said. “It’s really interesting to find out that global health is plagued by economic inequality on all sorts of issues that can affect your health in the long run.”

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Led by college and faculty students from Boston University and Salahaddin University in Iraq, student volunteers use project-based learning to research, develop, and implement initiatives to address COVID-19 in communities.

At the same time, they are enhancing their 21st century leadership skills and deepening their understanding of public health through an intercultural lens.

“Last week, we focused on an overview of global health, what global health is and how it compares to public health and the initiatives that have been taken in Iraq versus those that have taken place in America,” Shappaly added. “When addressing medical inequalities and access to health care, it is important to know the lenses that people are looking at being thrown away, and many of them have to do with culture and language.”

Prabhakar said she is really excited about completing the research and final cornerstone project, and she wants to work together with students across the country and in Iraq.

“Iraqi students are thinking the same things as us (in the US), but taking a different perspective, spin, and that ‘s why I think this cornerstone project has been particularly useful for me, to “I can start by seeing those interesting new perspectives that I see across borders, across states,” she said.

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Each team is working on a cornerstone project that addresses a coronavirus-related issue.

For her project, Shappaly will examine the effects that coronavirus has on popular art, music, and literature, and how certain artists (such as Luke Combs, who recorded “Six Feet Away”) are addressing the pandemic.

“The program has been really interesting,” Shappaly said. “I like being able to meet new people, not just in Iraq but all over the United States. It was just a great experience.”

And, despite being only in their second week, the program has already changed the perspective of Prabhakar and Shappaly.

“Something I already see in myself,” Prabhakar said, “is to have a new perspective, not only on the coronavirus, but also on working with teens in general, and talking to people, and developing those soft skills. which I think will be really helpful to me. “

Added Shappaly: “Everyone is going through almost the same situation. I just think everyone’s perspective is a little different than what ideas we want to do, which is based on what people value in their daily lives. So the behavior in question is really interesting. “

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Goluguri said it has been “cold” to compare and contrast cultural differences between the US and Iraq.

“We try to learn more about each other’s culture. For example, this week, for the second week, our project was to watch a video on Iraqi culture while they (Iraqi students) watched a video on American culture and we we talk, “said Goluguri. “The food, then the clothing and things like that in Iraq were different. Also, they (the Iraqi people) seem to emphasize a lot more about community and celebrations.”

“Despite our differences, American and Iraqi teenagers have the same concerns and likes,” Goluguri said.

“I remember a girl (Iraqi) specifically saying that she woke up every morning and made herself strawberry milk. And my first thought was, ‘Oh, my God, I love strawberries completely,'” Goluguri said. very common. “Even though we are basically from all over the world, we are just teenagers, so we bond a lot.”

For her cornerstone project, Goluguri said they will examine how socio-economic factors, lack of public awareness and inequalities in the treatment of public health have hampered the fight against COVID-19 and what can be done to correct it.

“I hope to build a community of people across the US and in Iraq, where I feel like we built something together,” Goluguri said. “Also, I hope to get back to my community and try to do what I can to make this pandemic better.”