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'Leaning in to Discomfort' at the NAIS SDLC

12/20/2013

In early December, five students traveled to Washington, DC to participate in the annual NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC).

The SDLC is an inclusive, multiracial, multicultural gathering of school student leaders in grades 9-12 from around the United States. The conference focuses on self-reflection, ‘allyship’, and community building.

Led by a diverse team of trained adult and peer facilitators, participants develop an appreciation of their own identities, build effective cross-cultural communication skills, better understand the nature and development of effective strategies for social justice, and practice expression through the arts, while networking with their peers.

Spanish teacher Janeatrie Gibson accompanied students Blair Thompson ‘14, Lucy Liljegren ‘14, Kendall Ferguson ‘15, Rhapsody Washington ‘15, and Karolina Garcia-Totzauerova ’16, who left with the conference with renewed perspective from this eye-opening experience.

When asked to name the most important pieces of wisdom gleaned from their experiences at the conference, Rhapsody said, “What I remember most from the conference is that I must always have a clear mind when encountering something foreign or different, and always be open to reasoning."

Kendall noted, “If I had to communicate one piece of wisdom/information that I took away from SDLC it would be the phrase ‘Lean in to discomfort' -- to take risks and chances, and not to shy away from something that you might regret later.”

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