Get Inspired by Carolina Dantas Sousa

GET INSPIRED BY

HIGH SCHOOL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

VOLUNTEER

CAROLINA

DANTAS SOUSA

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT INSPIRED BY GRADE 12 STUDENT CAROLINA DANTAS SOUSA

Carolina (known as Carol to close friends and family), is a G12 student with

a

passion

for

community

engagement and with aspirations to study politics in order to make a difference.

Carolina was born and raised in Portugal, moved to Brussels two years ago, and she has been at ISB ever since. She loves to be surrounded by

GET INSPIRED BY Carolina Dantas Sousa Grade 12

happiness, and considers that the recipe

for

happiness

includes

participating in an inclusive community that

celebrates

everyone’s

best

attributes.

What inspired you to get involved with the CAS Programme?

Before I came to ISB, I had already participated in a few smaller volunteering initiatives.

More recently, since the CAS programme became a compulsory part of my curriculum, I started engaging in these projects more often.

I think a smart way to approach CAS is to see it as an opportunity to discover different sides of yourself and to understand different societal groups, their experiences, and their concerns.

Through CAS I found a way to explore my own interests – this is how I discovered my passion for public speaking and for finding means to achieve social change.

What types of projects are you currently working on or supporting?

I have participated in clubs and initiatives that deal with political issues. For instance I have had the opportunity to work alongside other politics enthusiasts to put together bi-monthly debates about current events. Also, in the Model of the United Nations Club, we recently attended a conference with students from all over the world, where we shared solutions to combat current global challenges. Furthermore, in a small group of students (of which I was honoured to be a part) and with the guidance of a teacher, we organised a series of TED talks that addressed relevant issues. The support received from this group helped me put together a speech addressing crucial notions for the analysis of our societies.

Can you share a specific moment or experience from your community engagement work that had a significant impact on you?

While teaching English to refugees seeking to build a new home in Belgium, I came across stories from all parts of the world. This gave a more vivid understanding of the things they have had to endure. For instance, I spoke to a man who fled from Sudan and whose family was caught up in a violent conflict. He spoke about his experience with such calmness. He explained how he managed to get to Belgium and that he wanted to build a stable life here.

His strength was admirable, since after all he had been through, he continued to strive for a better future. It made me think of the people who have been through similar experiences and who still manage to push through. It also made me reflect on the enormous privilege I’ve had, and most importantly, that I must utilise that privilege to make a difference, even if that starts at a local level.

In which ways do you think your community engagement

involvement

influenced

your

worldview?

From

organising

monthly

activities

to

reduce

isolation at an elderly home, to working with other English speakers to share our knowledge of the language with refugees, and to learning about the belgian Sonian forest and its complex ecosystems from residents of the Wallonie region, these few instances

gave

me

a

more

comprehensive

perspective of our society and its variety of interests and groups.

How do you think participating in ISB’s Community Engagement Programme will influence and support your future career choices?

Participating in community engagement certainly provided clarity to me in regards to my future career choices, as I realised that I genuinely want to try to contribute to the development of our societies. It has made me reflect on where today’s priorities lie and how we should move towards societies that embrace solidarity and collective wellbeing. Therefore, I decided that my university path would definitely be focused on political science and international relations, or on other related branches.

How do you encourage and inspire your classmates and colleagues to get involved in community engagement programmes?

I would not say that I encourage classmates to get involved, but that we build projects together and we try to create an inclusive environment. For instance, in student leadership we try to organise events that bring the school community together, in which we promote student-led initiatives, so that people can learn about the programmes and activities taking place in High School and can choose to join them if they are interested.