On Friday, September 16, Upper School students assembled to discuss and share the current world issues that they felt passionate about. 

The discourse was part of the 正规网赌软件推荐 Summit: Your Seat at the Table, an event hosted by The Center for Girls’ and Young Women’s Leadership, a program within 正规网赌软件推荐 that positions students to find their voice and know their power. The half-day event gave students the opportunity to engage in civil discourse with their peers, listen to a panel of community changemakers, and learn more about how to make an impact in their communities now and after they depart from 正规网赌软件推荐. 

Students went through an application process to be selected to participate in a poster presentation session in which they shared what they believed to be the most pressing issues for girls and young women. Topics ranged from black maternal health and ocean acidification, to Latinx representation, paid family leave, and the pink tax. As students viewed the posters, they were asked to consider what makes issues pressing for girls and young women. After viewing their classmates’ posters, students went into Advisory breakout sessions to discuss what issues they would represent if they had “seats” at the table and in what ways they would like to make an impact in their communities. 

In the civic engagement panel that followed, students had the opportunity to hear from community leaders including Columbus Board of Education member Dr. Tina Pierce, Columbus City Councilwoman Lourdes Barroso de Padilla, Matriots PAC chair April Zimmerman Katz, and ACLU Research Attorney Carlen Zhang-D’Souza. Students introduced the panelists, who discussed topics surrounding their work, what inspires them, and how students can affect change right now. 

In the final portion of the Summit, students learned about voting in primaries at the age of seventeen, registering to vote, canvassing, volunteering, and becoming a grant reader.