Who are we?

Our story.

As Covid 19 first hit the United States in March of 2020, the harsh repercussions were felt everywhere; students and parents alike dealt with transitions to online school, quarantine, and isolation. 

Stuck in our homes but eager to help, four students from San Diego convinced many of their peers that it was time to do something—something that would utilize our educational privileges and make meaningful impacts upon our communities during such an uncertain time. Thus, we founded Global Milestone, a nonprofit service organization that, at first, focused on closing the gaps within educational inequity by offering free, tutoring services to low-income families, especially single-mother households. As our students and parents spread the news about our impacts, we grew, and we began to establish a digital bridge across the United States, Mexico, and China. Our tutees themselves were not only able to improve academically through our help but improved alongside other learners from different cultures. 

Lots of students began sharing about their personal lives, from their familial struggles to devastating social issues, and as their peer-teachers, we wanted to do more for them. Since many of us in Global Milestone were also students of intersectional identities, we identified with the concern and anxiety our students had about the racial and sexist sentiments exacerbated by the pandemic. From the death of George Floyd, the Atlanta Shootings, and the overturning of Roe v. Wade, we were quickly convinced that what the world wanted wasn’t more reactionary solutions—we desperately needed preventative ones. 

Thus, with our international network of students and a sense of responsibility placed upon our shoulders, Global Milestone initiated student-led versions of cultural education aimed at developing diversity awareness and curiosity in addition to our original goal of education equity. Instead of only focusing on interacting with global learners thousands of miles away from us physically, we decided to think about how we can impact local students and residents. 
Inspired by the world that came as a result of such isolation, in a time when racism and xenophobia were spreading because of the pandemic, we began to offer accessible, no-cost workshops every month in the Riford Public Library in San Diego. Attendance grew from just a couple of bypassers who saw our posters at our first workshop to over 40 attendees at our latest workshop, with age ranges spanning 7 to 70. However, with more exposure, comes greater responsibility. We kept in mind that many of the social issues we battled disproportionally affected financially disadvantaged families, so we planned our events without any limitations on age and considerations on activities for everyone. 

And yes, the responsibilities we embraced are a lot of work for one organization. But we are consistently reflecting and appreciating the resources we already have as a collective—although we already have a network of international members across three countries, we are planning to expand the in-person parts of our club. We believe that our preventative approach to cultural education can be a model for other public library events in other states or even countries. As we have done before, Global Milestone will continue setting milestones for ourselves and the world before us!