Living Democracy 2022

Through my articles, I feel like I’ve been able to give a pretty good accounting of my summer here in Roanoke. I’ve talked about the highs (and there have been a lot of those), the lows, and the lessons I’ve learned about rural democracy and community engagement. The only thing that I really haven’t talked about has been arguably the most central issue of the summer—the community’s hospital vote.

As I reminisce on my summer, I owe it to Selma that I am now more comfortable and motivated to do community work in my hometown or any other place I may learn to call home. For 10 weeks I was compelled to drift away from my comfort zone and adapt to a new environment and way of life.

One of the most innovative avenues through which Roanoke tries to provide these opportunities is Handley High School’s Outdoor Education Center, an outdoor learning facility that boasts fruit and vegetable patches, a chicken coop, fish hatcheries, bee-keeping facilities, and more. The OEC shows Roanoke is a town that is willing to think outside the box and implement original ideas in order to position itself on the cutting-edge.