This past week, I, along with seniors Ally Rodriguez and Justin Wright, junior Patrick Tsang, and sophomores Alyssa Theofanidis and Marley Brailey Harris, attended the Student Diversity Leadership Conference in Denver, Colorado. Accompanied by chaperones Margarita Serrano and Virgil Campbell, our army of eight physically braved the freezing mile-high city as we mentally embraced the experiences that came.
The conference initiated with listening to the powerful words of GRAMMY-nominated artist, award-winning entrepreneur, and business keynote speaker Sekou Andrews. Encouraging us to make waves in society and to challenge social norms, Andrews inspired a crowd of over 2,000 students and 4,000 teachers. For me, one line stood out: “Diversity isn’t easy for the diverse either.”
Instantly, I knew that my next couple of days would be filled with even more transpiring and transformative moments. This year’s theme was “Lifting As We Climb: Elevating Our Schools Through Love and Justice,” supporting its message about raising each other up through a society where Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion movements are declining.
Our days were split up into Family Groups and Affinity Groups. Students were divided into groups titled with defining characteristics. I was a member of “Determination,” while others found themselves in “Courage,” “Compassion,” or “Love and Justice.” These words were themes of the conference, and we were challenged to utilize their meanings during our time here.
In my Family Group, I found myself constantly reflecting as we journaled, vocalized, and processed emotions, thoughts, and societal norms. We played a Jubilee-style “Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree,” where we were asked to express our position on some lighthearted topics regarding travel to more serious topics such as immigration. It was a good opportunity to see how exposure to a variety of answers can completely change or shape my mindset. For some prompts, I found myself initially standing on one side, and by the end of the discussion, I was on the very opposite.
My biggest takeaway from Family Group was the different ways people identify themselves. Some saw “race” as their biggest identifier, while others valued their “sexual identity” as their identifier. Regardless of the factor, the differences created a room of uniquely different human beings. With some slices bigger than others, I looked around at everyone’s “Identity Pie” and realized that what we value as an identifier is what makes us who we are.
On the following day, we were asked to express our identity through a physical form, whether it be crafts, spoken word, theatre, music, and in my case, dance. My group created a short piece that revealed the biased hierarchy of society. While dancing to Sexyy Red, we were able to loosen up a little while still focusing on the important themes of the conference.
In the latter part of our day, we arranged into Affinity Groups, where I found myself in a room with over 250 other Asian American/Pacific Islander students from across the nation, all with different backgrounds, homes, and stories. There, we considered the personal struggles we, as a minority, faced. The purpose was simple: to allow students who mostly attended predominantly white institutions (PWIs) a space and environment to feel heard and seen.
We debated topics as light as “never eating rice or noodles again” to the “fetishization of Asian beauty in Western society.” Regardless, the opportunity to speak and hear other individuals who have undergone similar experiences and struggles instantly created a family and community.
As the trip ended, I spent some time reflecting on the people I met and the thoughts I was introduced to. My favorite activity was the “Silent Movement.” Without saying a single word, a room of over 2,000 students participated in a movement that formed bridges and showed the support of others. A variety of identifiers were announced, including socioeconomic status, race, and ability. Some prompts were harder to admit than others, as it felt like I was exposing myself for thousands of eyes to view and judge. But by the end of the event, it was obvious to me that people were not there to judge but to accept.
This conference was an amazing experience that I believe every student should be able to experience. It is one that not only opens your eyes but galvanizes you to act on it. During my past couple of days, I was able to reflect, hypothesize, and hope for a better tomorrow where diversity, equity, and inclusion are accessible for all.
