Hockaday Student Wins Princeton Prize in Race Relations
Dithyae Devesh, an incoming senior at The Hockaday School, was one of 29 students nationally to win the Princeton Prize in Race Relations.
The award recognizes high school students who, through volunteer activities, have worked to advance racial equity and understanding in their schools or communities.
She was recognized for starting an organization called Change the Narrative, an educational organization dedicated to combatting racial inequity within English curricula nationwide.
“This happened through access to a large database containing a wide variety of literature written by authors of different cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds,” Devesh said. “Each piece of literature comes along with a page containing a synopsis and lesson plan, as well as resources to help teachers teach the work in their classrooms. So far, it’s been used in a couple of different classroom settings, like tutor centers and other educational programs and some schools as well.”
Her database also contains a section is student-written narratives that gives a diverse perspective on the English experience in terms of racial or cultural prejudice and contains firsthand accounts from the student authors.
“Basically, I’ve provided them with a platform to share their stories to the world, anonymously, if need be, as well, which not only helps the students, but educators who now have access to reading these stories and can understand how to adapt their curriculum to foster a safe and nurturing environment,” Devesh said.
