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Episcopal Students Attend Regional and National Conferences
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his winter, groups of Episcopal students had the opportunity to expand their on-campus classroom studies by attending three regional and national conferences. Student Diversity Leadership Conference An EHS delegation of six students, including Marina Barsoum ’12, Taylor Kelly ’12, Marie Thomas ’13, Jonathan Pryor ’13, Clarence Clanton ’12, and Foster Joseph ’12, accompanied by three EHS faculty members, joined the nearly 1,500 high school students from across the country who met in San Diego, Calif., from Dec. 2-4, 2010, to discuss issues of diversity and equality at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC). Held annually, SDLC is a multiracial, multicultural gathering of student leaders in grades 9 through 12 and focuses on selfreflecting, forming alliances, and building community. Through intense training and group sessions on cross-cultural communication skills, effective strategies for social justice, networking principles, and expression through arts, the students were taught how to be better leaders and spokespersons for issues of diversity and justice in their school. “In those two days, I learned not only the language of power, but also that I can make a difference. We learned that it takes one person to start a reaction, and that the first follower is just as important, because he turns that one person into a leader. I never thought it was possible to form a family bond with 50 plus kids in just two days, but I did and was able to learn from all of them. My group taught me that the cycle of oppression is never ending and must be stopped. Anyone can stop it, and it starts with one person,” said Foster Joseph ’12. D.C. High School Diversity Leadership Conference In February, six EHS students attended the D.C. High School Diversity
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2010 NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference attendees and faculty chaperones include: (left to right) math teacher Dave Collins, social studies teacher Rachael Flores, Marie Thomas ’13, Jonathan Pryor ’13, Marina Barsoum ’12, Clarence Clanton ’12, Taylor Kelly ’12, visual arts teacher David Douglas, and Foster Joseph ’12.
Leadership Conference, which drew public, charter, and independent high school students from Philadelphia, Pa., to Richmond, Va. EHS attendees included Jasmine Jones ’11, Aliyah Griffith ’11, Nyantee Asherman ’11, Rashawn Ince ’12, Nicoya Taylor ’13, and Taylor Kelly ’12. Carolyn Lewis, Episcopal’s dean of multicultural affairs, accompanied the students to the conference. The conference theme was “Looks Can Be Deceiving: Appearance vs. Reality,” with the goal to engage students in authentic dialogue about the ever-changing notion of diversity. Conference highlights included ice breakers about current events, case studies in small groups, and questionand-answer sessions with distinguished panel guests. Students also had a unique opportunity to network with groups from other schools and to establish new friendships around the topic of diversity. National Clean Technology Outlook Conference Episcopal science teacher Ashley McDowell accompanied six science students, including Maria Cox ’11, Lanier Olsson ’11, Sarah Hulbert ’11,
Jasmine Jones ’11, Reid Nickle ’11, and Amanda Acquaire ’11, to the National Clean Technology Outlook Conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., the first major clean technology event of 2011 organized by The Clean Technology Leadership Forum. Bringing together congressional, agency, military, and business leaders, the conference highlighted the latest projections on clean technology funding in 2011; program priorities of the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency; clean energy federal contracting opportunities; clean energy and environmental clean-up priorities; and national and international environmental clean-up business opportunities. “It was incredible to be in the same room as different environmental leaders explained their present successes and future plans to one another. The presentation by the U.S. naval officer was the most fascinating to me. I didn’t know that almost all U.S. naval operations use some kind of biofuel or nuclear power to augment traditional fuel usage. Our armed forces are very environmentally conscious, which is so impressive,” said Maria Cox ’11. n