Fourteen-year-old Aliya is exploring her interest in the law by taking Mock Trial — a course that is bringing her out of her shell and helping her to meet new friends from around the world.
I’m taking the Mock Trial course. My dad is a lawyer so I’ve always been surrounded by it. I really enjoy debating and analyzing things, so it’s quite possible that I want to become a lawyer one day. I’m sure it can be boring at times, but I think mostly it can be very interesting. I’m kind of drawn to the idea of being a voice for someone else who is putting their faith in you — that’s a very cool concept to me. Mock Trial classes have helped me overcome my fear of talking to other people. We’ve done a lot of activities where I’ve had to be more open — like role playing — which is important in Mock Trial whether you’re a witness or a lawyer.
There are a lot of things that make EXPLO very special to me. It’s very unique to have such a wide variety of courses and workshops you can take. They are all so different and interesting. I really appreciate all the opportunities we have here at EXPLO and how many different people you can meet from so many different places. I’ve never been in such a situation before. For example, I met a girl who is from Italy but she just moved to Chicago three weeks ago. I’m really excited to just meet new people because my environment at home is very different — my school is very small and there aren't a lot of opportunities to meet kids my age, so being in a place where that’s pretty much all I’m surrounded by feels very refreshing and exciting. I’m constantly running into situations where I have to interact with different types of people and that’s what attracted me to this place at first. In general, there’s just this overall feeling of being more independent. You feel like you have independence, but you don’t feel overwhelmed.
Fidelia Randmäe