Students and Faculty Attend Student Diversity Leadership Conference

Four students and four faculty members from Westminster attended the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) titled “Energizing Our Future” in Houston, Texas, Dec. 6-8 hosted by the National Association of Independent Schools.

SDLC is a multiracial, multicultural gathering of student leaders in grades nine through 12 from across the U.S. that focuses on self-reflection, forming allies and building community.

Some of the goals of the conference were for participants to develop effective cross-cultural communication skills, better understand the nature and development of effective strategies for social justice, practice expression through the arts, and learn networking principles and strategies.

The students were immersed in an intense, yet engaging, schedule that ran most days from 8 a.m. until at least 10 p.m. “One thing that came up over and over was that they were all taken by how open people were with one another and how safe and easy it was to connect with people they'd just met,” said Westminster’s Director of Multicultural Affairs Michele Hatchette ’05.  “It was both refreshing and inspiring for them.”

Highlights for the students included a “silent movement” exercise, the opportunity to be open and honest with strangers, affinity group work related to recognizing their legacies and open mic sharing time.

The students who attended the conference included Charlotte DeLana ’14, Chanice Gooden ’14, David Carter ’15 and Hieu Do’15. The faculty participants were Director of College Counseling Greg Williams, Associate Director of Admissions David Pringle ’05, Director of Theater A-men Rasheed and Michele Hatchette, who also serves as Associate Director of Admissions.