Eighteen Homestead juniors embarked on a trip to Chicago’s Allstate Arena yesterday to participate in We Day, “a celebration of youth making a difference in their local and global communities,” according to We Day’s website.

The students gathered at Homestead at 7 a.m., and, after arriving at the Allstate Arena, the group listened to a series of musical performances and speeches from individuals such as Martin Luther King III, Paula Abdul and Ciara, as well as less well-known names who have overcome adversity to cultivate change in their own communities.

According to Mr. Matthew Wolf, Social Responsibility Team (SRT) chair and We Day chaperone, “We Day is a kick-off event for a series of movements. Their whole theme is ‘Me to We,’ basically focused on making communities stronger.” The group saw everyone from former gang members who have graduated college and started their own businesses to Adrianne Haslet-Davis, a professional dancer who lost her leg in the Boston Marathon bombing and came back to run the marathon on a prosthetic leg. The speakers’ purpose was to inspire the audience and to communicate that “anyone, regardless of their situation, has the power to make a difference,” Mr. Wolf said.

“My favorite part of We Day was just listening to each motivational speaker talk about themselves and what they’ve done to overcome any sort of challenge in their life,” James Guskov, junior, said. “Adrianne Haslet-Davis was my favorite speaker because of how vividly she told her story and how she came back and learned to live life differently. My biggest takeaway was that we can accomplish anything if we put our minds to it.”

Compared to last year’s event, Mr. Wolf said We Day this year was “more impactful, and people got more emotional.” Unlike last year’s We Day, yesterday’s event was not televised, and thus, could run all the way through without stopping to redo certain parts. “I enjoyed it better this year,” Mr. Wolf said. “It was a really powerful day, definitely.”

For Homestead students, attending We Day was the kick-off to the SRT’s efforts. Composed of a new batch of juniors, the SRT works to promote the four aspects of social responsibility–integrity, compassion, awareness and community– at Homestead and in the greater community. Mrs. Molly Navarre, special education teacher, will take over Mr. Wolf’s position as chair of the SRT, and the team will focus more on “smaller social media efforts” in order to provide a more regular impact, according to Mr. Wolf.

“I’m most excited to make an impact in our school and district all together,” Sydney Crivello, junior, said.

“I’m excited to set an example for our school and for other kids, and to be a leader,” Lexi Heth, junior, said. “We Day inspired me to make a change and to actually follow through with the changes I want to make.”