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Welcome to my world! My name is Michelle Young. I'm an author, specializing in multicultural subjects. Education, especially related to multiculturalism and cultural diversity, is very important to me. We enhance our own lives and the beauty of the world's mosaic through our celebration of the world's cultures.
For the last few years, I've hosted the Trivia Trek Multicultural Challenge from the Southern Regional High School District in New Jersey. Unfortunately, although site sponsors had hoped to continue the Trivia Trek Multicultural Challenge, circumstances beyond our control have forced the challenge to close. If you are interested in sponsoring the Trivia Trek Multicultural Challenge re-launch, please contact me. Should Trivia Trek resume, I'll again provide the questions. You will again provide the answers--if you can! I'll give you updates on Trivia Trek's fate if there are any changes. My apologies for any inconvenience.
I have also written columns on multicultural issues for TIPS, the Teachers Internet Pages from Thailand. Although changes in my life and my schedule have prevented me from continuing my work with TIPS, I do hope you'll stop by and check them out--especially if you're a teacher. You'll find the site packed with tips and great ideas for the classroom, whether you're in the United States of America or in one of the world's many other nations.
In my personal life in the United States of America, I keep quite busy with my four sons--Shawn, Kim, Jamie, and Matthew. Kim, now 16, graduated high school at the end of June 1999. Ranked #17 in his class of 331, Kim received his letter and several awards, including the Scholar-Athlete award for his having the highest grade point average among all of the male athletes in his school.
Jamie, who was a regional champion tennis player by the time he was 8 years old, has given up his tennis to try other sports. In the fall of 1998, he played American football for the first time. Football gave way to basketball, and then Jamie discovered baseball. In the spring of 1999, Jamie joined a Little League baseball team. At the end of June, Jamie hit his first home run, a feat he found far more impressive than his report card. One week later, he hit his first Grand Slam and scored every point in the game his team won that night! During the summer of 1999, Jamie, now 12, became the only rookie player on our community's All-Star team.
Matthew would like to continue his tennis as he has time, but time seems tight--even when you're ten years old. Matthew was actively involved in lacrosse until our move to Georgia in May 2000. He also enjoys school and was chosen as a peer monitor in 1999. He loves spelling and reading. Both Jamie and Matthew plan to get involved, of course, in more sports after we're more settled in our new community.
My apologies to those of you who remember the photo of Kim, Jamie, and Matthew, in Michelle's World. I removed the photo for the children's and my personal safety. Their individual pages, still among my favorite sites, shown below, are desperately in need of updates; but these are the children's personal projects. I was born and raised in Binghamton, New York. No matter where we are in the world, Binghamton, my hometown, will always have a special place in my heart.
Among the changes my family and I have experienced since late spring 1998, my oldest brother, James B. Petitte, always a proud United States Marine who served in Korea and remained a Leatherneck to the end, passed away on May 28, 1998. Semper Fideles, Jim. I do hope you'll remember him in your prayers. Jim was the first person to awaken my interest in the Orient, and specifically in Japan, where he spent many fond hours during rest and relaxation, R&R, as it's known in the military. In fact, Jim taught me the first words I learned in Japanese. I miss him dearly.
Here, in these pages, in addition to the information you'll find about my award-winning book, Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow: Meeting the Challenge of Our Multicultural America & Beyond, you'll learn more about my family and me and eventually other people and things that are dear to me. My site now reflects a special honor I've received in being named to the Phenomenal Women of the Web.
In the fall of 1998, TCK World interviewed me about my perspectives on my life, my book, and life for children leaving for or returning home from other lands. Since I am usually the interviewer, being interviewed was fun. I hope you'll enjoy reading the interview as much as I enjoyed the experience. You can find another interview with me in the authors section of Amazon.com books.
People have been asking me about my photo and bio, so for those who are curious, click here. If you're interested in some of my writing background, you'll find that at The Writers Net--well, at least I hope it's still there! If not, if you're an editor who's interested in my credits and background, please feel free to email me, using my email link below, and I'll respond promptly. My résumé will be available soon through a link on this page.
The Table of Contents to my constantly expanding Favorite Places pages, will guide you to site links on multiculturalism, individual cultures, and a wide variety of educational subjects--including foreign languages, online papers and discussions--as well as a fun page to some of the more unique sites online. My updates to this site aren't always as timely as I'd like. My schedule often becomes too hectic for my intentions. If you find any broken or outdated links, please let me know; I really am trying to keep all links current. It's taking me far longer than I expected to complete some major updates to this site. I do hope you'll be patient with me. I will probably continue to be slower than usual in these updates for a while more. My most recent update was on November 28, 2000.
Effective immediately, I am sorry, but I've had to remove access to my guest book. I have been patient with Lycos and Gear in my effort to resolve problems their transitions have caused, but the situation has grown increasingly worse. It's been six months since I've had access to my guest book. I'm sorry for the inconvenience.
