It’s usually not every day that you meet students from around the world. But for Jessica González, grade 12, it was, thanks to an internship with Civics Unplugged.

Civics Unplugged is a New York-based organization that hopes to prepare teens to be engaged citizens and community leaders. González landed the internship through Rio Americano’s CIVITAS program, a civics learning program that requires internships and volunteer work.

“A lot of the fellows come from other countries where they don’t have the opportunity to do such a thing at their school,” said González. “It is a good outlet and a good opportunity.”

The entirety of the internship took place online through the Discord messaging application so that participants from all over the globe could connect. The central focus was on a weekly Zoom discussion called a bonfire.

The bonfire meetings allowed the fellows to discuss issues affecting their communities, including everything from climate change to urban design.

“With that information we would be able to talk about how it’s like in our country and what other solutions they had in other countries,” said González. “The bonfires are really just a way to get a different insight on how we see our surroundings and how it’s different in other countries.”

In addition to the bonfire meetings, there were also meetings with a smaller group of students, called a junto. González’s group featured students from across the country, and even one member from Brazil. 

“All of us together would talk about some of the issues discussed at the bonfire,” said González.

One of her favorite moments was seeing a group member, Jihao, plan the creation of a school for Korean speakers in Japan. 

“Civics Unplugged actually has this program where they can lend you $1,000 dollars for an idea,” said González. 

She was able to witness the idea from its genesis to its funding. 

“It was really cool to see how he went from ground up,” she said. “It’s really cool to see how your influence and your ideas can have such an impact.”

In one breakout room after a bonfire, she had the chance to talk to a boy from Korea about issues with roads. 

“It was good to see that even in other countries there’s people actively suffering with the same issues as ours,” she said. “It was refreshing to get their side of the story.”

Another issue that had pronounced regional differences was the price of gasoline. Her group leader complained about the $4 gas prices she had in Alabama. Meanwhile, “in Brazil they didn’t suffer at all.” González found it fun to see how the same experience was being felt differently in different places.

“A big part of the internship was to do two case briefs,” González said. A case brief involves coming up with a unique solution for a specific issue. She got by with a little help from her friends: “Getting insight from other places, it’s really interesting because I get to implement that into my case brief,” González said. 

González chose to focus on the issue of plastic pollution. She found an interesting solution: “You can actually use a type of fungus called mycelium, and with mycelium you can replace almost every plastic product available.” She also wrote about how the beauty industry could cut down on plastics by using reusable cloths and paper bags, an idea already used by companies such as Lush. 

González has no plans to forget her experience. “Civics Unplugged is always going,” she said. “You truly never leave.” In fact, the organization frequently offers opportunities for alumni, one of which González is eager to participate in.

didn’t suffer at all.” González found it fun to see how the same experience was being felt differently in different places.

“A big part of the internship was to do two case briefs,” González said. A case brief involves coming up with a unique solution for a specific issue. She got by with a little help from her friends: “Getting insight from other places, it’s really interesting because I get to implement that into my case brief,” González said. 

González chose to focus on the issue of plastic pollution. She found an interesting solution: “You can actually use a type of fungus called mycelium, and with mycelium you can replace almost every plastic product available.” She also wrote about how the beauty industry could cut down on plastics by using reusable cloths and paper bags, an idea already used by companies such as Lush. 

González has no plans to forget her experience. “Civics Unplugged is always going,” she said. “You truly never leave.” In fact, the organization frequently offers opportunities for alumni, one of which González is eager to participate in.