Late on a Saturday morning, a lively scene unfolds in a sunlit classroom in Hatay. A dozen teenage girls huddle around tables strewn with paints, colored paper, and laptops. At one end of the room, a student carefully sketches a design for a community garden poster; at the other, two girls practice a role-play conversation as if ordering lunch at a café – giggling as they try out new English phrases. The walls are papered with evidence of their journey: vocabulary flashcards taped next to watercolor art, a collage of famous women leaders they’ve researched, and a big world map dotted with sticky notes in English. This is not your typical language class. It’s creative chaos with a purpose. This is Be the Voice of Girls in action.
From day one, BVG’s approach to teaching has been unconventional and holistic. The program spans nine months (a full academic year) and intentionally blurs the lines between “education” and “fun.” The girls attend virtual English sessions during the week and come together on Saturdays for hands-on workshops that feel more like art camp than school. The curriculum is built around thematic modules that each integrate an aspect of the arts or culture with language learning. As Mirey Baz explains, “we developed a unique approach that integrates various art forms with aspects of U.S. culture and life, alongside practical English language skills”. The result is a rich tapestry of learning experiences. Let’s drop in on a few of these modules to see how they work – and how they spark empowerment in the girls.
A Palette of Possibilities: Visual and Digital Arts
One of the modules in the third cohort was Digital Art & Design, a modern twist on the traditional art class. The girls learned to use simple design software and digital drawing tools – for many, it was their first time creating art on a computer. Under the guidance of Samantha Bell, a volunteer educator and artist from North Carolina, and her daughter Lillie (a freshly minted interior design graduate), the girls discovered how to express their ideas visually and bilingually. In a virtual workshop led by Samantha, they explored principles of design and discussed how spaces can tell stories. Lillie shared her screen to show a 3D model of a café she had designed for her university, explaining in English how she chose colors and layout to make people feel welcome. The BVG girls were enthralled – here was a young woman not much older than them, creating beautiful spaces in a field that combined art and technology.
Then came the hands-on challenge: each girl would design her “dream space” for her community, using either digital tools or pen and paper. The ideas poured out: an oceanside gathering place with benches around fire pits, a library with cozy multilingual reading nooks, even a colorful playground blending nature and play. Some sketched on graph paper; others ventured onto a simple digital canvas with Lillie giving pointers. As they worked, they chatted (in English as much as possible) about why they chose certain features – learning new terms like skylight, garden terrace, and wheelchair ramp as they considered accessibility and comfort in their designs. When time came to present their “community space” designs to each other, the girls lit up with pride. They weren’t just describing buildings – they were advocating for environments that bring people together. In doing so, they practiced speaking about abstract and technical concepts in English. “I felt like a real architect presenting my project,” one participant said later, beaming. That confidence is exactly what this blend of art and English is meant to unlock. As one student wrote in her evaluation, “I loved Digital Art because I could express my dreams with colors and English together”. In other words, the language became a tool to articulate their visions, not a barrier.
Visual arts have been a cornerstone of BVG since the beginning – from painting and crafts in cohort one to digital media now. Along the way, the girls experiment with various mediums. One girl, who had stopped drawing in 7th grade, rediscovered her artistic side through these projects: “I was happy to start [painting] again and do it well, even if it was not that good,” she admitted with modesty. With encouragement, her perfectionism gave way to joy. In the safe space of BVG, art isn’t about perfect results; it’s about finding the courage to create and to say, “This is my work” – in English.
Storytelling and the Spoken Word
If art provided color and confidence, storytelling and writing provided voice and vocabulary. In the “Finding Our Voices Through Storytelling” module, the girls delved into both personal narratives and historical tales. This module was a favorite thanks in part to the dynamic duo leading it: Andrew McCrea, an American storyteller and author, and Michael “Mike” Sullivan, an American educator with a flair for imaginative games. Andrew in particular has a way of weaving a spell with his voice. In one session, Andrew regaled the girls with a story of his own small Midwestern hometown that lost its luster and then found revival through community art (planting painted murals of sunflowers on old buildings). The girls listened wide-eyed; through his story, they not only picked up new English phrases, but also saw a mirror to their own communities recovering from hardship. “Andrew’s way of telling stories made me want to tell my own,” one student reflected later. Inspired, the girls penned short stories about their lives – some wrote about a memorable family tradition, others about overcoming a personal fear.
Meanwhile, Mike Sullivan turned storytelling into a game. He introduced a storytelling improv activity where he and a student would take turns spontaneously adding lines to a story – the catch being they had to use a new vocabulary word each time. Imagine a tale that must somehow incorporate “astronaut,” “butterfly,” and “earthquake” all in one go. The results were often hilarious and always inventive. One girl recounted how at first “it was difficult… but now I speak much more fluently in such activities”. By creating a playful, low-pressure environment, Mike helped the girls get over the fear of making mistakes. They learned that communication is about conveying ideas, not about being perfect. This lesson was evident when a student proudly announced, “I am proud I could talk about something I care about in English”. Through storytelling, she found not only her English voice, but also the courage to use it to discuss topics close to her heart.
Music, Melody, and Cultural Harmony
With this third cohort, a new kind of lesson rang through the BVG sessions: music. Language and music share a lot in common – rhythm, tone, the way they can move us – so it was a natural fit for BVG’s creative formula. The “English as a Singing Language” sessions in each module were led by two special guests: Heather and Ece, instructors from the University of Pittsburgh’s English Language Institute. In one of their sessions together, held just after New Year’s, the theme was Resolutions and Melody. After chatting about New Year’s goals – with Mirey sharing her own exciting resolution to visit the U.S. and meet these collaborators in person – Heather and Ece introduced a classic song to the group: “New Year’s Day” by Taylor Swift.
What happened next felt like a cross-continental jam session. The girls listened to the gentle tune, following along with lyric sheets to spot idiomatic phrases hidden in the song. They gleefully paused at expressions like “toast of the town” and “throw a curveball,” which sparked discussions about similar sayings in Turkish. The session built up to a sing-along. At first, there were only a few timid hums. But Heather and Ece started singing boldly, and one by one the girls joined – some off-key, some on mute but dancing in their chairs. By the chorus, most microphones were on and a patchwork of voices – Turkish, American, slightly out of sync but all enthusiastic – belted out “Hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you.” In that moment, any notion of distance disappeared; it felt like everyone was gathered around the same piano. Initial shyness gave way to confident voices and bright smiles as the girls realized no one would judge them here. “I normally hate my voice, especially in English,” one participant admitted, “but when we sang together, I wasn’t shy at all.” Indeed, more than one girl noted that the singing sessions helped them speak more fluently – perhaps because singing forced them to breathe and not overthink each word. Music became a medium not just for cultural exchange, but for building linguistic confidence.
BVG also explored music therapy and jazz, adding another dimension to its arts curriculum. Through a partnership with an Ohio-based nonprofit called A Tribe for Jazz, the girls engaged in an unforgettable final module that combined melody with mindfulness. Sydney Zupnick, a board-certified music therapist and director of music therapy for A Tribe for Jazz, led the cohort’s final sessions (more on that in Part 5). In essence, the girls learned how music can heal and connect – they tried breathing exercises set to soft guitar strums, listened to snippets of jazz improvisation, and even experimented with humming to feel vibrations as a form of stress relief. For many, these concepts were completely new. “Music therapy is not a well-known concept in much of Turkey… Yet here it was, being not just explained but experienced,” Carl Holtman observed of that session. The inclusion of music and art therapy elements in the curriculum speaks to BVG’s broader aim: nurturing socio-emotional growth, not just academic skills. One girl’s reflection says it best: “I felt relaxed, and it made me forget my worries for a while”. This came from a student who had been anxious and sleepless in the weeks leading up to national high school exams. Through music, she found a moment of calm. The BVG curriculum quietly taught her a life skill: when anxiety swells, take a deep breath – perhaps even sing – and remember you’re not alone.
Cultural Connections & Culinary Adventures
Language and culture are inseparable, so BVG’s curriculum is as much about cultural exchange as it is about grammar or art techniques. Each module weaves in aspects of either American or Turkish culture (or another culture, depending on the guest instructor’s background) to broaden the girls’ horizons. For instance, during the Thanksgiving-themed workshop in November, the girls got a taste of American holiday traditions. Heather and Ece – who had by then already become beloved figures to the cohort – hosted a virtual “Thanksgiving party” complete with an English lesson. They taught the girls the story behind Thanksgiving, introduced relevant vocabulary (from pumpkin pie to gratitude), and even had everyone share something they were thankful for. It was during this session that the idea of cooking and culinary arts came into play. The theme organically shifted to food traditions: what do families in Turkey cook for special occasions versus what American families cook? The girls eagerly described their favorite dishes like dolma (stuffed grape leaves) and baklava, while Heather and Ece talked about turkey (the bird) and casseroles. One student said that Thanksgiving session was her favorite because it “combined culture, vocabulary, and fun all in one”. Another wrote, “I learned how Americans celebrate and share – especially during holidays – and I want to try that with my family too”. Sure enough, on New Year’s Eve, that girl convinced her family to go around the table and say what they were thankful for, a new tradition inspired by BVG.
Food became a delightful vehicle for language learning in other ways too. In October, Aubrey Carter from All Ears English joined for a special session on “Food and Dining Etiquette”. Aubrey, an energetic English teacher and podcast host, taught the girls how to navigate restaurant scenarios in English – from ordering politely to asking for the check. The role-play exercise had everyone in stitches: one girl pretended to be a picky customer sending soup back to an exasperated “waitress” who was actually her classmate. They learned phrases like “Could we see the menu?” and “I’d like this to go,” all the while laughing at their exaggerated politeness. But this exercise had a serious outcome: it gave the girls practical language skills for real life. Aubrey reminded them that English could be their ticket to connecting with the wider world – be it for travel, future studies, or simply making international friends. She even touched on cultural norms, sparking a discussion about how in Turkey meals are often a family affair while in the US grab-and-go is common. It was a subtle lesson in cultural competence alongside language. By the end, the girls not only expanded their food-related vocabulary, they also gained confidence that they could handle themselves in an English-speaking environment, even something as intimidating as ordering at a foreign restaurant. And if any of them were still too shy to speak up – well, they got to practice that too by literally speaking up to place a pretend order.
Throughout these cultural modules, a theme emerged: the girls were not just learning about another culture; they were also reflecting on their own. After hearing about American traditions, they often shared Turkish customs in return – describing Bayram holiday feasts, or how in their hometown they make a special dish for guests to show hospitality. In doing so, they practiced translating their culture into English words, an empowering act of finding their voice in a second language. “Girls also gained new appreciation for their own heritage,” the evaluation report noted; one girl realized “I have a voice in Turkish and in English, and I want to use both”. This kind of bicultural confidence is a hallmark of BVG’s curriculum. By validating the girls’ identities and languages (no one ever tells them “don’t speak Turkish” in the program – instead it’s “teach us that word in Turkish!”), BVG ensures that English becomes an addition to their voices, not a replacement.
From Classroom to Community
One might wonder, with so much art and music and conversation, do the girls truly improve in English? The answer is a resounding yes – and measurable at that. BVG employs a before-and-after assessment of the girls’ English proficiency, but in a way that aligns with its creative spirit. At the start of cohort three, the girls took a placement test focusing on listening and reading. At the end, they attempted a four-skills exam covering listening, reading, speaking, and writing. The results showed growth across the board. Nearly 90% of participants achieved an overall B1+ or B2 level (intermediate high) by the end of the program, a level often required for study abroad programs. Several girls showed exceptional strengths – for instance, a few hit advanced (C1 or even C2) in reading, meaning they could comprehend complex texts almost like a native reader. Overall, while their productive skills (speaking, writing) lagged a bit behind receptive skills (quite normal in language learning), most girls’ speaking and writing still reached solid intermediate levels (B1) by year’s end. These aren’t just letters on a scale – they represent real abilities, like being able to sustain a conversation with an English speaker or write a coherent essay in English. One particularly driven student who was “not confident at all” at the start ended the program at “very confident”. The data and the anecdotes align: through its arts-integrated curriculum, BVG manages to teach English in a way that sticks. The girls learn not by rote memorization, but by using the language meaningfully – to sing, to debate, to describe something they created, to interview someone they admire. That usage builds not only skill but ownership. English becomes their tool, their voice.
To cap off the academic year, BVG usually ties its threads with a collective gesture; this time there was no final assembly, only a last scheduled session that felt appropriately inward: Sydney Zupnick’s music-therapy workshop with A Tribe for Jazz. It was a quiet close—breath work and simple vocalizations, a few bars of improvisation, a shared stillness that made language feel less like a hurdle than a current to float on. The girls tried humming to feel vibration, paced their breathing to an easy three-count, and spoke about how sound can steady the body when exams or life press too hard; it was not performance but practice, not curtain call but handoff. And yet the emotion was no less acute: as the session wound down, one of the girls unmuted and said, “You brought me so many wonderful things. You made me experience things that maybe I may never have the chance [to otherwise] in my life. I’m so thankful for this.” Her words hung in the small silence that followed, crystallizing what the curriculum had labored toward all year—that this is not merely an English course but a life-changing experience built on creativity, compassion, and connection.
As the group logged off for the last time that year, Mirey Baz reminded the girls that this ending was really a beginning. They were now part of a sisterhood of BVG alumnae who would carry the torch forward. The curriculum had given them skills, yes, but more importantly, it gave them a sense of what they could accomplish. Many of these girls entered the program hesitant to speak, unsure of their talents. They left as confident speakers, artists, singers, writers – in a word, voices. And as we’ll see in the next part of this series, those voices did not fade after graduation; they continued to rise, echoing far beyond the classroom in ways both profound and inspiring.
