At Kent Place, "Though Many, We Are One"

03/10/2008

Summit, New Jersey -- On Tuesday, March 4, the Kent Place Middle and Upper School celebrated its fifth annual Global Perspectives Day with the theme, "Though Many We are One." 

The day began with a special assembly featuring Luanne Zurlo, founder and executive director of Worldfund, an organization whose goal is to minimize the education gap in Latin America by investing in high quality and outcome-driven school and programs that serve impoverished children. 

Zurlo, who left her nine-year career on Wall Street to start Worldfund, set out to improve the lives of the less fortunate students after a business trip visiting schools in Mexico City. She was introduced by eighth grader Olivia Donatelli, who initially met Zurlo through a history leadership interview project.

In addition to the special assembly, each Middle and Upper School girl attended three of over 14 workshops that were facilitated by persons from varied backgrounds who told of their experiences and causes.

Speakers represented areas as diverse as Africa, Israel, Thailand, Korea and Estonia as well as organizations such as Roots and Shoots, Global Literacy Project, United Jewish Communities, The LEAGUE, Operation Smile, Donghwa Cultural Foundation, American Field Service and the Georges Malaika Foundation, among others. 

After lunch the girls debriefed about their workshops with Kent Place faculty and heard a presentation on microfinancing by Rabia Syed from the online portal kiva.org.  Kiva, which means unity in Swahili, connects with microfinancing institutions allowing people to loan money to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world.

Each Kent Place advisory group will be given $25 to sponsor a business and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. The students will be able to receive journal updates from the entrepreneur they have sponsored.  Once the loans are repaid, the girls will have the opportunity to reinvest.

Middle School Technology Coordinator and Chair of the event Deon Metelski said, "This day has allowed our students and staff to be exposed first hand to world views, aside from books and online resources.  It has also offered a glimpse at ways we all can be involved in world service from presentations by truly devoted and unique individuals that came here."

"I think it is important to have a Global Perspectives Day at KPS," noted tenth grader Amanda Walker, "because as youth, we will be the ones to deal with the issues not only in our own country but in the rest of the world.  The issues that occur in the world affect us, whether it is directly or indirectly, so it is important that we are aware of what is happening." 

Unique to this year, Kent Place sponsored teachers and students from Kenya and Estonia who stayed with Middle and Upper School families, attended classes and activities, and spoke to the girls about their daily life.

Global Perspectives Day was created to help build and sustain a bridge between diverse experiences and cultures.  In giving the girls a day to immerse themselves in the perspectives of a vastly varied group of people, Kent Place hopes to provide them with a platform from which they can leap into a more genuine and meaningful exploration and understanding of the views of others.

"I know that many people at Kent Place would love to get involved with activities, and today in our workshops, we were shown numerous ways to give back to our community. I think that Global Perspectives Day is very effective," said eighth grader Elizabeth Gully.

Added fellow classmate Danielle Mills, "I liked the fact that we had so many different activities we could sign up for. It gave us the chance to choose a workshop about something we didn't know a lot about or something that we are particularly interested in. It is great for KPS to have an event like Global Perspectives Day because it is important for teenagers to know about other countries and cultures and to be culturally diverse. Being able to listen to speakers from around the world helps us to achieve that."

The faculty and special guests' enthusiasm, combined with the girls' energy and eagerness to learn new things, created the ideal recipe for a day of excitement, exploration and authentic global education at Kent Place School. 

About the School

Kent Place School is an independent, nonsectarian, college-preparatory day school which, for over 100 years, has provided a superior education for young women who demonstrate strong scholastic and creative ability. For more information about Kent Place visit www.kentplace.org.