Los Alamitos High School senior Sydney Forsyte has always felt a personal connection with the story of Anne Frank.
As the granddaughter of two Holocaust survivors, Sydney believes Anne’s story carries a universal message of empathy and tolerance that resonates with people of all backgrounds. Now, through a collaboration with the nonprofit Anne Frank LA, Sydney is giving her high school peers the opportunity to form their own connections by bringing a new traveling exhibit to campus.
Making its first appearance in an Orange County school, the Anne Frank – A History for Today exhibit tells the story of the Holocaust and World War II through the lens of the Frank family’s experiences. Their story is illustrated across 32 movable panels, currently housed at Los Alamitos’s media center.
Sydney felt moved to present the exhibit to her school after learning about it during an internship with the Freedom Writers Foundation — a Long Beach-based organization founded by educator Erin Gruwell that uses “The Diary of a Young Girl” to inspire students.
“I just really thought it was an impactful story, and I wanted to bring it to Los Alamitos so other students could connect with it the way that I did,” Sydney said.
Assistant Principal Cara Vienna said Sydney approached administrators with the idea before the school year started and wrote three different grants to secure funding for the immersive display.
“When this project came to us, we wanted to figure out how we could make it relative to what the kids were learning and ensure that as many students as possible could experience this student-driven project,” Vienna said.
Despite Sydney’s initial concerns that the project might not draw enough interest, sign-ups for the exhibit filled up within minutes. Senior Maleah Fennessy was among the first students to register to volunteer as a docent.
“I’ve always felt like I really connected with Anne personally,” Maleah said. “I feel like being able to tell her story was a really cool opportunity for me.”
Through Oct. 25, Los Alamitos High School students will lead tours of the exhibit for 10th graders as part of their English and world history courses.
For more information about the program, visit the Anne Frank LA website. Educators interested in bringing the Anne Frank – A History for Today exhibit to their campuses can contact the organization at annefrankla@gmail.com.