Today, we’re featuring Roginae (she/her), a rising ninth grader and new FEEST Student Organizer. In this conversation, she shares what brought her to FEEST, why students need trusted people at school, and what adults often miss when young people are struggling.

Roginae also speaks about school food, violence in her community, and her dream of building a career centered on helping others. Throughout the conversation, one message stays clear: young people see what is happening around them, and their voices deserve to be heard.

Dev: Thanks for joining me, Roginae! To start us off, can you introduce yourself and share a fun fact?

Roginae: My name is Roginae, my pronouns are she/her, and I’m going into ninth grade. This is my first year at FEEST. A fun fact about myself is that my ethnicity is Sudanese. Not a lot of people know that about me.

Dev: We love to hear it, shout out to Sudan! And welcome to FEEST! What made you want to join?

Roginae: My friend was already in FEEST. Sometimes during tennis season, she would be on a FEEST Zoom meeting because she couldn’t attend in person. One day, I asked her, “What’s FEEST?” She explained that it was a student organization and talked about how FEEST helps students.

I thought that was really important because a lot of the time, students don’t have a voice or don’t know where to share their voice. I thought what she was doing was really cool. Toward the end of the school year, I saw the sign-up and remembered what she had told me. I really wanted to join.

Dev: Shoutout to friends bringing friends into organizing! You mentioned that students sometimes don’t have a voice. Can you say more about what that means to you?

Roginae: From my own experience and my friends’ experiences, students have shared their thoughts and haven’t been listened to. Sometimes teachers might think, “We have the right decision because you’re youth and you don’t know what you’re saying.”

But I feel like everyone should get their voice heard because everyone has their own thoughts and opinions. Sometimes teachers brush students off because they think, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Dev: That’s frustrating, and it isn’t right. What is something you care deeply about changing in your school or community?

Roginae: When it comes to school, I care about students a lot and how we can help one another. As students, we see and hear a lot because we’re around other students. We understand when other students might be struggling.

During my first year of high school, I saw a lot of students struggle to find a trusted adult or find ways to get help. As a student, you want to make sure you have a trusted adult because you don’t want to keep everything in.

I also noticed that when students skipped class, some teachers or staff members thought, “Kids are just going to skip.” But I feel like there’s always a deeper meaning, and sometimes people turn a blind eye to it.

Something I care about in my community is gun violence. I feel like there is a lot of it in the South End, especially affecting young people. It can make students and families feel unsafe. A student shouldn’t have to wonder whether something will happen while they’re trying to get to school.

I feel like violence has become normalized because we see it so often, and sometimes we know the people involved. People react like, “This happened again,” as though it’s another normal day. It shouldn’t feel normal.

Dev: Thank you for naming that. How do you hope to be part of creating change?

Roginae: I hope to be a voice for people who might be too scared or don’t know what to say. I want to show people that even if you’re scared, there is someone you can go to and share your problems with.

A lot of people might be scared to share what they’re going through. I would like to be that voice and be a voice for my community.

Dev: Mic drop. You’re still new to FEEST, but based on what you’ve experienced so far, why should people support FEEST and our Student Organizers?

Roginae: On top of being student-led, we talk about problems happening in our community. We can be a voice for our community in different ways and help when our community is struggling.

Even though we’re young, we still see and hear a lot. We can be a backbone for our community because when youth speak, the message spreads quickly between us. When we talk together, it becomes a more powerful message.

I saw that when students organized walkouts against ICE around schools. Students from different schools came together and showed our strength through our words and actions. We showed adults what young people were thinking and what we wanted them to do.

Dev: That’s organizing right there. Students recognized an issue, came together, and made their position known. Let’s talk about your first FEEST Summer Camp. What made you want to keep coming back?

Roginae: At first, I was really nervous. I didn’t know if I would see a lot of people of color. Seeing other people of color really encourages me. A lot of people in the program were also East African, and as someone who is East African, I love seeing other East Africans.

FEEST taught us something new every day, and there were engaging activities that helped us get to know everyone. We all came from different schools, so the group was very mixed.

The adults tried to make everything fun, and that helped me stay engaged and want to come back every day. It also led me to making new friends, and I really liked that.

Dev: New FEEST friendships secured! When you think about mental health, what do students need to feel safe and supported at school?

Roginae: Students need someone to talk to. If you don’t know who to talk to, you might keep all your feelings bottled up. When they overflow, your whole day can be ruined. You might get mad or lash out.

Having a trusted adult, or even just someone in the building you know you can talk to, is really important. If I’m feeling a certain way, I can go to them, have a meeting, and talk about how I feel and how they can support me.

It could also be a friend you know you can talk to without feeling judged, someone you trust to keep what you told them private.

Students need someone they can trust, someone who supports them, and someone who won’t judge them. If I feel judged, I’m not going to go up to that person. I’m going to keep how I feel to myself.

Dev: That’s beautifully said. What role can students play in building that kind of support?

Roginae: Students can communicate with one another and check in with their friends. Teachers can also pull students aside for wellness checks and ask how they’re doing.

I think students trying to communicate with each other is really important.

Dev: Let’s talk about school food. What do students deserve from the meals served at school?

Roginae: We need less repetitiveness. During the second semester, we were getting a lot of the same food, like chicken sandwiches or burgers. Sometimes there wouldn’t even be enough food by the time students got to the cafeteria.

We need different foods. Schools could branch out into different cultures, and I feel like students would love that instead of getting the same thing over and over again.

Students deserve to be able to eat, and they deserve food that is nutritious and appetizing. If the food doesn’t look appetizing, students aren’t going to eat it.

I also think there need to be larger quantities. If you haven’t eaten all day, you’re going to feel down and exhausted. Some students have sports or jobs after school, so they might go ten hours without eating. That isn’t healthy.

My middle school provided snacks and drinks for students in after-school programs. I think schools should bring that back so students have something that gives them energy.

Dev: Absolutely. Students need enough food to make it through their full day. You’ve talked throughout this interview about wanting to help people. What are your dreams for the future?

Roginae: My dream right now is to be a general surgeon. Since I was younger, I’ve always liked helping people, and that’s part of a surgeon’s job. I’ve always wanted to be in a role where I can help my community and the people around me.

Another option is being a lawyer and becoming a spokesperson for people who don’t have a voice or who might be wrongfully accused. I grew up watching shows like Criminal Minds, Law & Order, and Grey’s Anatomy. I fell in love with seeing people help others and speak up for them.

Dev: Whether you become a surgeon, a lawyer, or discover another path entirely, that commitment to helping people is already shining through. Last question: You have the microphone and can speak directly to our community. What would you like people to know?

Roginae: Always be you, and don’t ever change yourself for anyone. Always do the right thing that feels right to you.

Roginae may be at the beginning of her journey with FEEST, but she already brings a deep awareness of what students experience in their schools and communities. She reminds us to look beneath the surface when a young person is struggling, create relationships grounded in trust, and listen when students tell us what they need.

Whether she is advocating for better food, stronger mental health support, or safer communities, Roginae’s vision is rooted in care. She wants to help people feel heard, supported, and less alone.

We’re grateful to Roginae for sharing her voice with us, and we’re excited to see how she continues to grow as a Student Organizer.