This past weekend, St. Mark’s hosted the annual High School Students of Color Conference, sponsored by the Association of Independent Schools in New England (AISNE). The High School Students of Color Conference was created in recognition of the unique needs, experiences, and challenges of students of color in independent schools. This conference brings together high school students of color in the kind of critical mass that provides for a “majority experience,” which is not the norm in most of our schools. The conference seeks to raise self-awareness, build community, provide support and cultivate leadership among students of color. This is the 21st such conference offered by AISNE.
Over 400 students from a wide range of independent schools attended the Conference, including dozens of St. Mark’s students, while 24 St. Mark’s faculty and staff supported the AISNE event as facilitators, affinity group leaders, chaperones, and organizers through the School’s Community and Equity Committee.
Keynote speakers for this AISNE Conference included writer Brian Walker; psychologist David Shim; Mr. Shujaa Graham from the Witness to Innocence Program; and Ms. Nurys Camargo, founder of Chica Project. There were also numerous workshops and panel discussions.
The event at St. Mark’s was organized under the leadership of Ava Archibald, the School’s Director of Community and Equity Affairs. Ms. Archibald credits the smooth operation of this year’s AISNE conference schedule to “all the faculty and staff who really stepped up to make this weekend a successful one!”