I spent three months interning at HMA, and the experience far exceeded my expectations, in so many ways. Now, back home in the US, I miss waking up every day to the gorgeous sunshine and the sounds of priests chanting over loudspeakers from nearby churches on Timket, a day of celebration. I miss the daily greetings of so many friendly faces—the drivers, gardeners, faculty, and students—HMA is truly an oasis of wonderful people.

I am Ethiopian born in the United States, and growing up my mom ensured that I visited Addis Ababa every few years so that I wouldn’t lose my connection to my Ethiopian heritage. However, as I got older and school became more rigorous, my visits became less frequent and my Amharic dwindled. I began to lose sight of what it meant to be Ethiopian and the beautiful culture and history of the country. As a result I was a bit apprehensive about how I’d feel in the country, living in a community I did not know, but I should not have been. My stay at HMA helped me recapture what I had lost, and it exposed me to so much more.

My main internship project was to help structure and organize the school library, working with dedicated student librarians who were eager to set up this critical campus resource.

Library in progress; students sorting books

Our work involved several steps, the first of which was sorting through thousands of books stacked in “the book room”—a monumental task, to say the least. We organized 7,000 books into 14 different genres: Fiction, Romance, Mystery & Thriller, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Mythology, Graphic Novels, Gaming, History, Poetry & Drama, Science, Social Sciences, College Preparatory Books, General Nonfiction, and Psychology. Books then had to be entered into a database using library organizing software we researched and selected together. The student librarians put in an incredible amount of effort into every detail of this painstaking, labor intensive effort, and I was moved by how we were supported by the entire HMA community which came together to breathe life into the library. Students would come to the book room during evening free time to sort and alphabetize while the librarians exercised initiative and leadership in guiding their peers through the process. Once the library was complete and books ready to be checked out, it was a joy to watch the student librarians take such ownership in recommending and locating books for their classmates.

In addition to establishing the library, I advised the Journalism Service Learning, the Cooking Club, and the Anime Club, and I helped develop a mental health training for the 9th graders, covering topics such as confidence and test-anxiety. I also loved just participating in the general life of the school. A particularly memorable event was the Adwa Day celebration. My Gojo (“house”), the Walias, was assigned to organize the celebration, and through them I learned about the Battle of Adwa and joined in the student-led Adwa performance. I also learned so much just from living in Debre Birhan (my family is all in Addis) and from meeting students from all over Ethiopia.

Adwa Day performance - Yemi is second from the right

I went to HMA to volunteer and contribute in any way possible, and I can honestly say that I gained at least as much as I gave. From meeting so many wonderful people through the library project to learning about Ethiopian culture and history and reconnecting to my heritage, the experience exceeded my expectations in so many ways. HMA students are going to become amazing leaders who make a positive change in this world. They and others in the community helped me develop immense pride in my family’s country of origin. I’m so lucky to have spent three great months with them, and I cannot wait to see what they achieve in the future.

Giving and Gaining