Listen On:
In this episode, we get the privilege to speak with Maggie Chang and Nicole Alleyne, who are both graduates of the Asheville School and participated in Shoulder-to-Shoulder courses. The Asheville School has partnered with Shoulder-to-Shoulder for over ten years.
Maggie and Nicole discuss how the lessons they learned from their time with Shoulder-to-Shoulder helped inspire them to found Camp Good Trouble, a summer camp that serves underprivileged youth in the Asheville area.
the beginnings
“We met in high school at Asheville school in 2015,” explained Nicole. “And we have stayed together ever since.” The duo has been able to use ethical leadership to transform the world around them for the better.
Maggie first attended a course in Nicaragua in 2017, supporting a bilingual school on Ometepe Island in Nicaragua. The experience taught Maggie about listening to the community and seeing what they needed before trying to help. When she returned from Nicaragua, she began tutoring children of color in the Asheville area. And she listened.
Nicole was first inspired to make a difference when she heard a speech at the Asheville school by Shoulder-to-Shoulder partner Dr. Karambu Ringera. She was taken away by the gravitas Dr. Karambu exhibited.
An inspirational moment
“I remember thinking, oh my goodness, I need to know this woman,” said Nicole. “I need to learn from her.” She didn’t know at the time that she would get that opportunity and it would change her life. After applying and being selected to work with International Peace Initiatives at the Amani Children’s Home in Kenya with Dr. Karambu, she was inspired daily.
“The driving point was seeing how she showed up in a community,” said Nicole. “It was an aspirational moment for me to see who I could learn from and how to be a quality community member.”
They were already primed to make a difference in the world when the late congressman John Lewis visited the Asheville School and spoke. He encouraged the students to get in good trouble and according to Nicole, “seeing the finger of John Lewis pointing out in stage, in my eyes if I was like ‘He’s talking to me!’”
We are so proud of everything that Maggie and Nicole have done and continue to do to serve their communities and make the world a better place