Interview conducted by Mr. Van Drie -- interviewing IB students Quinlan Doolin, Hayden Hodge, Isabelle Goodman, James Van Drie, and Alaina Patterson.
All IB students participated in the "2015 World Affairs Conference" hosted by Rotary District 6540 on November 19. The annual conference is intended to bring students in northern Indiana together to discuss a world issue that has an impact on their families and communities. Fourteen schools attended with a total of about 250 students and teachers.
Dr. Susan Reef, a rubella team leader for the Global Immunization Division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was the keynote speaker. Former Chesterton teacher and active Rotarian, Jim Jeselnick, presented the story of his own history with polio treatment and his subsequent involvement in Rotary and a mission trip to take the vaccine to Africa. Dr. Timothy Ames, curriculum development director at the Indiana University Northwest School of Medicine and visiting associate professor of clinical family medicine, spoke about the implications of vaccines, the history of diseases, and answered numerous student questions.
Our students were separated into groups with other students to discuss the global issue, their perceptions, and their ideas on what could be done to improve vaccines worldwide with the larger intent of eradicating diseases. After their group discussions, they were offered the opportunity to speak to the larger group and provide a summary of each smaller group discussion. It is not surprising that several Chesterton students volunteered and participated in the final presentations.
