For more information, visit www.taftschool.org/news
Around the POND BY DEBRA MEYERS
Opening Doors to Change GLOBAL LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
Grace Dreher ’18 collected comfort items for children in foster care.
CHANGING THE WORLD is not an abstract concept to Taft’s Global Leadership Institute (GLI) scholars, it is an imperative. This year’s class of GLI program graduates tackled projects that not only raised awareness about global issues, but took meaningful steps toward impacting them. “Sometimes we’re so focused on all we have to do here—sports, academics, extracurriculars—it’s hard to turn outward and remember that there are other issues in the world that we should be doing something about,” says GLI Scholar Grace Dreher ’18. “This program showed me how easy it can be. If high school kids can do something that makes such a difference, everyone can.” Dreher was one of 10 Taft students selected to join the program’s second cohort in the fall of 2015. With 10 students from Waterbury schools rounding out the class, the group embarked on an 18-month experiential learning journey, carefully crafted to enhance their understanding of global issues, while developing the knowledge and skills they need to effect meaningful change. The curriculum includes talks by local and global leaders and scholars, teambuilding events and experiences, diversity leadership workshops, and field trips. Students also participate in a summer service internship. “The GLI experiences are all scaffolding for the culminating project,” explains Baba