By Ben McLoughlin

Every fall for the past 13 years (including virtual experiences in 2020 and 2021), Collegiate, Richmond, and the United States have had the privilege of hosting the International Emerging Leaders Conference (IELC), a week-long event bringing together high school students from around the world. The conference culminates with a series of presentations, each about an innovative product to address an environmental issue from each of the visiting countries and the US.

This year, we hosted students from Italy, Mexico, China, Kazakhstan, Ghana, and South Africa. In the past, our school has hosted students from Malaysia, India, Israel, Spain, Lebanon, France, and Morocco as well. At Collegiate, IELC is a Senior Capstone class, open to a small number of Senior students. Along with 10 of my American peers, I had the incredible opportunity to experience the conference firsthand this October.

For weeks leading up to October 7, the day that 24 international students and seven teachers arrived in Washington, D.C., our small capstone class had been preparing for the conference. Led by Rhiannon Boyd, Collegiate’s JK-12 Director of Capstones, our main pre-conference task was to create a video about an environmental issue that our country faces. We decided on urban heat islands, a phenomenon characterized by significantly higher temperatures in urban centers compared to suburban or rural areas. Every country came with an issue from their home as well, from oil spills in Mexico to air pollution in China, among others. 

The goal of the conference was to design an environmental product or system, culminating in a presentation on Thursday, Oct. 12 open to the entire Collegiate community. We were placed into small groups with members from different countries in each group. Every group was given an environmental issue, specific to one of the participating countries, to tackle. During the week, we were coached on the principles of “design thinking” by a variety of guest speakers, including Collegiate’s own Global Scholar-in-Residence John Dau, local business owners, Collegiate and Harvard alum Destana Herring (‘17), and professors from VCU and the University of Richmond.

One day, we were able to work at VCU’s Brandcenter to learn about and experiment with creative ways to problem-solve. “Design thinking is valuable for our students to learn because of its human-centered approach,” Boyd says. “Ideally, when approaching a challenge, the person attempting to make a positive change begins with an important set of questions: Who is impacted by this challenge? How might I gain a deeper understanding of their life experiences so that my understanding of their connection to the challenge is deeper? And is it possible to work alongside those impacted to address these challenges?” she added. Putting humans at the center of these issues, by conducting interviews and hearing firsthand accounts, made the problems we worked to solve feel far more real and personal.

Exploring the nation’s capital.

The week was chaotic and exhausting in the best way. Days began at 8 a.m. and finished as late as 7 p.m. on some days. Apart from the work designing and presenting, we tried to give the visiting students context about Richmond and America. Before coming to Richmond, we toured the National Mall and the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.Back in Richmond, we took a trip downtown, eating at iconic Richmond spot Bottoms Up Pizza and walking the Canal Walk to Brown’s Island and the T. Tyler Potterfield Bridge. There, we learned about Richmond’s history and our city’s deep roots in the slave trade. In addition, visiting students stayed with host families who gave them authentic Richmond experiences, like getting dinner at Chick-fil-A, go-karting, and having classic American cookouts with burgers and hot dogs.

On the last day, visiting students and teachers visited Lower and Middle School classes to share their culture with more members of our community. In a 2nd Grade classroom that I visited, students from Kazakhstan taught children some common greetings in Kazakh and Russian.

Students from Kazakhstan talk to a Lower School class.

Just as impactful as the work was the cultural exchange and meaningful relationships that we experienced and formed. At first, I was nervous that it would be difficult to connect with the international students. However, we bonded almost immediately, over similarities and differences. A playful, yet passionate debate raged between the Americans and Ghanaians over which sport, American football or soccer, could be called “real football” (this video eventually ended it). On a 20-minute bus ride, I learned of the major differences between Venetian and Italian culture and language from Filippo, a proud native of Venice, Italy. Even though we grew up in totally different environments, I was able to have deep, emotional conversations with students from China like they were old friends. 

It’s hard to do such an experience justice, but without exaggeration, I can say that it changed my life. The logical principles of design thinking will aid me in all of my future academic endeavors, and my presentations will be vastly improved. On top of that, I made 24 friends for life. One week was just enough time to truly get to know all of the visiting students. We shared so many laughs and experiences throughout the week, experiences that will connect us for life. Some of the international students shared their opinions with me as well. “Now, I know more about other countries, and I have so many friends from all over the world. IELC is the most crazy and exciting thing that ever happened to me,” Azhar, a student from Kazakhstan, told me. “It was one of the coolest weeks of my life,” said Charles from Ghana. “Design thinking helped me open my mind to alternative ideas and ways of problem-solving through human-centered design. And all the people I met were really amazing,” he added. 

Boyd shared some personal feelings with me about the conference as well. Leading the conference’s curriculum since 2014, she was the keystone of our week. Along with the rest of the Powell Institute for Responsible Citizenship team, she made plans months in advance and made sure everything went smoothly during the week. About the conference, she told me “I will always remember the madness right before design pitch, the tears on closing night, and the full heart I get when I reconnect with IELC alumni… More than anything, it’s changed me. I travel the world a little bit every fall without leaving the USA, and it’s truly a gift.”

All photos courtesy of @cougarsglobaled on Instagram.