In November, six Packer Upper Schoolers traveled to Nashville to attend the National Association of Independent School’s Student Diversity Leadership Conference—a gathering of more than 1,600 teenagers of color from schools across the country. This annual event is designed to help students develop cross-cultural communications skills, design effective strategies for social justice practice, and learn the foundations of allyship and principles of networking. (Thirteen Packer faculty and staff members participated in a concurrent People of Color Conference for adults in independent schools, including two—Upper School English Teacher Cara Hill and Upper School Computer ScienceTeacher and Tech Integrator Saber Khan—who presented at the conference.)

Seniors Genesis ’19, Andres ’19, Maya ’20, Satya ’19, and Peter (P.J.) ’19, and junior Zoe M. ’20, were selected from 13 students who applied to attend the conference. The cap of six students per school was set by NAIS.

“I wanted to go there and meet a lot of people and learn from people and bring back to Packer things that I could do to improve the Packer community,” said Andres.

During the two-and-a-half days in Nashville, students heard presentations from speakers including Mayor of Nashville Bill Briley, journalist Lisa Ling, and scholar, author, and activist Marc Lamont Hill. They also participated in workshops and met with peers in affinity and regional groups, where they discussed a range of diversity topics, including eight cultural identifiers — race, gender, family structure, sexual orientation, religion, age, ability, and socioeconomic status — and their influence on individuals and society. 

In addition to acquiring skills to bring back to Packer, our students were tasked with identifying an area of opportunity at their school and crafting a way to address it. They expressed frustration that some older students don’t acknowledge the importance of engaging in work in this area throughout one’s education. Some students “make a joke out of diversity,” said Satya. “They say, ‘Why are we still talking about this?’ instead of, ‘How can I improve?'”

“A lot of people expect a laundry list [of steps to take],” added Genesis. “They think ‘I’ll do it and it’s done.’ They need to understand why you need to change.”

These students proposed finding additional ways to incorporate diversity into the school’s curriculum, including explicit focus on anti-bias training, which they say would require the continued commitment and support of faculty and administrators. “These are the people who lead us in conversations and in everything we do at school,” said Satya. “If they’re not the most woke, no one else will be.”

At the conference, the six students presented their recommendations to Packer faculty and staff in attendance. Upper School Director José M. De Jesús was part of that group and was so impressed by these students and what they shared that he sent an email about it to Upper School faculty when he returned from the conference. 

“I was blown away,” said De Jesús. “It was one of the most powerful moments I’ve experienced during my five years at Packer…. That criticism was motivating and inspiring to continue the work we’ve already undergone, but in earnest and with haste and with a certain level of urgency that I think their analysis really helped us to see.” 

The students reflected positively on the sheer size of the conference. Being a student of color at a school with a predominantly white population can be isolating, and they appreciated connecting with so many who understand that experience.

“Being around people who look like me was very meaningful and very powerful,” said P.J. 

Satya agreed. “Being in a place where everyone had the same goal was healing to my soul.”