London and leadership: Marist Italy students attend global conference on leading with inclusivity

By Alice Adams

This April, nine first-year Marist Italy students traveled to London, England, to attend the Student Global Leadership Conference hosted by the Foundation for International Education (FIE).

The students, selected through an essay contest, were Sofija Dudhia, Mia Boyd, Lynzee Zriebiec, Samantha Inciarte, Isabella Tuttolomondo, Rosa Benders, Sascha Hsin, Troy Tucker, and myself, Alice Adams. The group left town on Thursday afternoon and returned Sunday night after a weekend packed with sightseeing, walking, regional cuisine, and critical thinking on the topic of student leadership.

On Friday, the group met up with the first-year Dublin students, many of whom were scheduled to present at the conference. Together, the groups toured the corridors and history of the Tower of London, took a Thames River cruise, and traveled up in the London Eye for a bird’s eye view of the sprawling city. From there, students split off to taste local dishes or visit Chipotle in search of a taste of home. In the evening, the group attended the opening marks for the conference, which was held at the Royal Geographic Society next to Hyde Park in Kensington.

Conference hosts welcomed the attendees, who hailed from all parts of the world, and introduced the topic of the weekend: how young people can step with confidence into leadership roles amid a changing, confusing world. Keynote speaker Ann Francke, Chief Executive of the Chartered Management Institute, spoke on the importance of staying true to one’s values in the workplace. She also emphasized the importance of diversity at the decision-making table; it is important both to provide opportunities for those excluded from the corporate setting, and to bring in various wealths of experience and voices to advocate for the world’s silenced communities. Attendees swarmed Francke during the post-keynote reception as hors d’oeuvres passed through the drink-sipping, snazzily dressed crowd. Attendees, including Marist students, spoke one-on-one with Francke, gaining valuable insight into the balance of compromise and personal values in the corporate arena.

“The main take away was actually from Ann Francke, about the huge say-do gap with employers actually implementing diversity rather than just saying they do. The highlight for me was the ability to go on my own and travel around in my free time, as well as the paid activities from the school.”

— Anonymous

The next morning, the Marist in Europe students rose early to commute to Kensington for the primary day of the conference. The day began with keynote speaker Ngozi Cadmus, TEDx speaker and CEO of Happiworkers and the Black Woman’s Rest Revolution. Cadmus highlighted the nuances of systemic oppression in the working world against racial and ethnic minorities. She went on to emphasize that in these groups, rest is not only essential, but is a fundamental act of revolution against late-stage capitalism.

“The panelists’ insights into pragmatism, solidarity, and our generation were particularly interesting to me, as well as Ngozi Camdus’ definition of rest as ‘resistance against a system built to exhaust us.’ The general highlights of the trip for me included the parks, beautiful weather, river tour, eating sticky toffee pudding, and meeting students from the Dublin and Madrid campuses.”

— First-year Sascha Hsin

Throughout the day, the conference broke out into several sessions where attendees could choose which seminars to attend. Topics ranged from the ethics of innovation, leadership theories, bridging cultural communication divides, and inclusivity and intersectionality in the workplace. Marist Dublin students, from behind the microphone, illustrated topics like intersectional female leadership, inclusivity in sports, the ethics of volunteering, and the experiences of educators in Ireland. Halfway through the day, a panel of experts explored political and social polarization, as well as the day-long theme of diversity in the workplace.

The day finished with a Story Circle session, in which attendees broke into groups and shared personal stories of kindness, connecting their own experiences with the meaning of leadership. Finally, the group got together once more for closing remarks. By the end of the conference, the students were motivated to incorporate these ideas into their own academic and career paths, eagerly discussing with each other and with new friends how to better our own understanding of what it means to be a young leader.

“My main takeaways from the conference were that leadership can really come in many different forms. It can come in the form of a good manager, a colleague, or even a friend. There were so many students from different backgrounds but we all seemed to agree on what good leadership looks like. It was interesting hearing the different student presentations. Some were definitely more interesting than others but they all put in a good amount of effort and I took away small bits of useful information from all of them.”

— Samantha Inciarte

After the conference, students had one evening and the next day to explore the city on their own. Students split off to visit sports stadiums, restaurants, stores, parks, museums, and more. As tulips and tree buds bloomed in the English spring, Marist students once again broke out of their comfort zone to see somewhere new and expand their thinking in this complex world.