teenagers – AGREE

“Golden Rule Moments, from #LiveGoldenaz!” in the AZ Republic

Posted on September 11, 2021November 18, 2021 by Anne Taylor

Golden Rule Moments, from #LiveGoldenaz!

Kendra Ruth

Special to Arizona Republic USA TODAY NETWORK

It was a Live Golden Reunion – true Golden Moments to celebrate! Nivea Krishan and Grant Williams, the original Live Golden hosts, have set an amazing example, addressing important topics with teens and sharing them with the general public. #LiveGoldenaz episodes are three minutes long, encouraging teens to voice their opinions on difficult issues, then reflecting how the Golden Rule can be applied for solutions.

The excitement could be felt! After several years of different hosts and videographers, topics and a pandemic, current and former Live Golden Teams came, including Nivea Krishan, Grant Williams, Trisha Panse, Anusha Rahman and James Kinney. We missed Live Golden team members Evan Crabtree, Sean-David Ta and Manvi Harde.

As the conversations began, one topic addressed was how Live Golden helps create a new image for youth. Grant expressed his feeling that people’s opinions really do matter and that you can find goodness in those that are very different from yourself. Nivea also reflected, “Live Golden really taught me the importance of making sure people are engaged.” Larry Fultz, executive director of AZIFM, expressed his warm appreciation for the youth and the example they set that grants multigenerational hope for the future.

LeAnn Basha, AGREE coordinator, who joined the reunion virtually, shared her sentiments, “With youth like this in the world, I can ‘Imagine’ a beautiful future,” referencing John Lennon’s song. She continued, “Where you would like to see the world to be in five years?” The group collectively shared their desire for people to unify, for example identifying primarily as American or a global citizen, versus being so divided. James mentioned how the Olympics were a great example of this desired global energy.

Reflecting back a few months, Manvi, Trisha, Anusha and James were featured on AZTV7’s “Daily Mix.” Show host Brad Perry named them Golden Rule ambassadors. Trisha heartily agreed with this title and stated that Live Golden is “all about giving a voice to teenagers and showing how they use the Golden Rule in their daily lives.” Manvi expressed, “(We) really need to make sure we are careful about what we say and how we make other people feel.” Videographer James also chimed in, stating that it is important to “get the student perspectives out there.” In the concluding moments of the feature, Perry concluded that the Live Golden ambassadors help show Arizonans the importance of listening to the voices of our youth.

During the #LiveGoldenaz Reunion, the truth of Brad’s statement echoed as the ambassadors were asked to pick a word that summed up their personal Live Golden Experience. The words they chose were profound, including: “transformative,” “pragmatic” and “community.” They each clarified their word choices with statements of impact and hope. Anusha, the Live Golden publicist, shared, “I think it is a very realistic way that we approach common social issues and we have this connection that is so real and so (practical) with the community around us, especially with teenagers and peers.” Their comments can assist us in reflecting on the positive impact diverse conversation can have on all of us.

After a countdown and a hearty cheer of “LIVE GOLDEN!,” the teens departed together, smiling and laughing. The sun’s light reflected in the atmosphere around them, and yet it seemed as though the light was coming from within each one of them. They had all experienced a change through their engagement with the Golden Rule. It was as though an army of “golden” civilians were marching out into the world, educated and ready to generate a brighter future.

See video highlights of the Live Golden Reunion at https://goldenruleeducation. org/category/news/ and BELOW.

“Teen’s mask project is a golden lesson” by Anusha…published!

Posted on December 11, 2020December 17, 2020 by Anne Taylor

Teen’s mask project is a golden lesson

In an era of a global pandemic, masks have become the social norm in what could be deemed as the first line of defense. It’s hard to imagine a world without them after almost an entire year of mask mandates and limited outings.

But this nationwide challenge of protection also creates a nationwide challenge of communication for a group that has been hit even more severely: the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.

Masks serve as a prominent hindrance to deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals who rely on lip-reading and facial expressions to understand helpful cues needed for proper communication. In fact, the National Association of the Deaf has stated that “more and more medical professionals are treating COVID- 19 patients from behind a barrier, using masks that impede lip-reading, and not allowing in-person interpreters.”

However, there is a solution to this persistent problem.

Neil Pandey, a 15-year-old sophomore from American Leadership Academy, has led the initiative within the Valley to create masks that are designed for deaf and hard-of-hearing people to safely and effectively communicate. The masks consist of a clear window sewn into the cloth to allow both facial cues and lip movements to be read by surrounding people.

After taking American Sign Language classes in school, he realized that the deaf and hard-of-hearing community would face significant hindrances in holding conversations during the pandemic.

He then proceeded to develop a prototype by utilizing a template for the clear window masks and began the sewing process by getting some help from family members and friends. He also started a GoFundMe page for materials, which has raised over $2,200 in support for his project. It was imperative that these masks could be accessible and of high quality made with care, and Neil ensured just that, creating around 1,500 masks to be donated to local grocery stores and health care facilities.

His message is clear: “It’s important to empathize with members of the community in a time like this and see what we can do for them. I wanted to create something that would allow them to properly communicate on the same level as anyone else.”

When additionally asked about which pillar of the Golden Rule he thought his project best represented, he confidently responded by saying “kindness and empathy.” He added, “I believe that understanding (the deaf and hardof- hearing)’s challenges during the pandemic and creating the masks out of this sense of kindness is a valuable lesson.”

Through the immense consideration and inspiring passion to help others highlighted from his hard work with this mask project, Neil perfectly exemplifies the core essence of the Golden Rule and how we as regular citizens can utilize our privileges to do good for our community, no matter the age. He reflects a profound story about transcending the limitations of one’s challenges and going beyond to help those in need.

His journey does not stop here, though. For the future, he plans on expanding this project to other parts of Arizona and maybe even other states. The main focus will be to allow commercialized clear-window masks to be widely accessible and attainable.

Anusha Rahman works on the Live-GoldenAZ project and is a junior at Hamilton High School.

#LiveGoldenAZ / Golden Rule Moments

Anusha Rahman Guest columnist

“Live Golden at home” by Nivea and Evan, Published!

Posted on May 1, 2020October 21, 2020 by Anne Taylor

Live Golden at home

Given the unforeseen circumstances produced by COVID-19, it is more important than ever for the teenage community to stay involved and connected. As such, LiveGoldenAZ has continued to spread our message and bolster the voices of our peers across the state. Utilizing social media platforms has enabled us to not only get more students involved but broaden our audience as well.

Staying engaged is no easy task, and the current environment has made it even more challenging. Even so, Live-GoldenAZ improved the format of our television segment to elevate participation in the campaign. For one, we established contact with the Arizona Class of 2020 Instagram page, managed by the state’s student council representatives. Through this connection, we were able to raise awareness about our efforts and increase the number of our followers significantly. Our active participants in the segment grew as well, as we now conduct interviews virtually and thus remove the barrier of distance and travel. While this situation is by no means ideal, it has motivated us to find creative ways to include more young adults in our effort. Keeping with the current times, we found it most suitable to make our first “quarantined” segment about finding positive, healthy ways to keep ourselves busy.

Teenagers around the state proposed numerous innovative and artistic strategies to stay occupied while at home. Through several virtual interviews, many of our peers expressed that this time has given them the opportunity to try new things, like art, exercise and other hobbies. This time has also given them the ability to prepare for life after high school and spend more time with their families. Doing these things to keep yourself busy and positive is important — without them, it is easy to feel lost. Many students proposed to get motivation by setting up a daily schedule. For example, a senior that we interviewed discussed how they allocate the first half of their day to schoolwork and household responsibilities and devote the second half to digital community engagement efforts. Moreover, some individuals are taking active measures to lessen the impact of the quarantine on families. Cori Borgstadt, a sophomore at Centennial High School, dedicates her afternoons to a low risk activity to support the economy. These service actions of young adults in Arizona superbly demonstrate the creative ways in which we are spending our time.

Our senior class was especially hit hard by the cancellations of important events like prom and graduation. However, the class of 2020 is working to coordinate makeup events later on in the year. The Summer Nights Festival is the perfect example, as it is bringing together local businesses to plan celebrations for prom and graduation in June. Furthermore, high schools are recognizing the achievements of their seniors by posting on popular social media platforms. In an interesting way, these drastic circumstances have helped bring school communities closer.

In this unprecedented time, it is important to employ the Golden Rule and remain respectful and empathetic to those around you. It is also crucial that we practice kindness by reaching out to those we cannot physically interact with and maintaining healthy relationships.

We at LiveGoldenAZ hope that everyone remains safe and healthy during these historic times. Our new segments air on the second Thursday of each month on AZTV7 at 8 a.m. and can also be found at goldenruleeducation.org/ live-golden/. To help spread the message of the Golden Rule, please follow our social media @livegoldenaz and message us for the chance to be interviewed next! Stay safe, stay kind, and remember to Live Golden.

Nivea Krishnan is the co-founder, team leader and managing director/ producer of LiveGoldenAZ. Evan Crabtree is the co-host of LiveGoldenAZ.

Golden Rule Moments

Nivea Krishnan and Evan Crabtree Guest columnists