If you ever are approached by person asking you to take a picture with the words #We All Live Here, you will have been asked to take part in a global art project.  A couple of the founders of the project, Rich Alapak and Jake Goldstein spread their positive messages about commitment to the community in Mr. DiFilippo’s Mass Media Writing class on Friday November 13th.

Rich Alapak and Jake Goldstein use technology to create business opportunities and to expand their philanthropic interests.  Rich started as a web designer in college and founded several successful Internet companies.  Recently, he worked as a Vice President for a large social media company Tumblr before turning to the #We All Live Here project.  Jake, who is a lawyer by profession, has a strong background in leadership and philanthropic endeavors. Oak Lawn substitute teacher and class of 09’ alumnus Philip Armstrong set up the thought provoking exchange with some OLCHS potential future journalist.

Senior Cameron De La Mora captured this sentiment, “It was really cool to see how big of an impact the Internet has on their lives.  It’s changed my idea of what the Internet is capable of.”

The students weren’t the only one’s excited about this opportunity. Mr. Alapak remarked “It was awesome to get to share our project with the students. The younger generations are going to have the most impact in changing the world so sharing our vision of a united and accepting world with groups of young people is always rewarding for us.”

The #We All Live Here project has important plans for the future.  They would like to travel around the world with this message of inclusion.

Mr. Alapak says, “we are planning public digital and real world projects that bring people together. Stay tuned…”

These positive messages about using media and technology got some students in the class thinking about the possibilities. Senior Jenna Galka said, “It was really inspiring to see how they started from nothing but were so driven to make their art project successful. I think it’s incredible that it’s interactive so everybody has a chance to make a change.”