This winter, a group of Carroll Middle School students and chaperones had the opportunity to attend the AISNE Middle School Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Conference—an event that lifts up the voices and experiences of student identities often marginalized in independent schools.

Director of Equity and Inclusion Osa Osagie, who has taken students to the conference for the past seven years, shares,

I see this as a wonderful opportunity for students to explore their own lived experiences, wrestle with real world conversations, bridge connections with students from local independent schools, draw on their individual and collective strengths, and have fun.

Here’s what some of those students reflected on afterward.

London Bent Grade 6

Matthew Fairfax Grade 8

Nadline Vital Grade 8

Anthoney Thompson Grade 6

 

The keynote speaker, Mariana Atencio, spoke about embracing the power of being real. What did you take away from that?

Nadline: She was talking about how to embrace your authenticity. She shared a story about how she posted on Instagram looking like she was at a New Year’s party, but she was actually at home. When her followers found out, they were calling her out and stopped following her. So she was talking about how you should embrace yourself and show the real you, rather than trying to be this person that you're not.

Anthoney: You have to make connections in this world. If you don’t have a trustworthy persona then not as many people will want to be near you, because they won’t know if you’re telling the truth. It’s like the boy who cried wolf.

After the keynote, there were a variety of sessions that you could choose to attend. Can you share a memorable session and what made it stand out?

Matthew: I liked the affinity group. My brother and I are adopted and we grew up in a white family and community. I rarely am in a space where so many people look like me, except for the Ethiopian summer camp my brother and I attend.

Anthoney: I went to a session on cyberbullying and texting, how you can prevent it, stop it, and stick up for other people. [Afterward], I was in a game and someone was getting cyberbullied and I told them to block the bully and report them to the game makers, because that's what I learned at the conference.

London: I went to a Latino, Latina, Latinx session. I know a lot about being African American but I don't know a lot about being a Latina. My mom is from the Dominican Republic. I don't speak Spanish, only English. So I really wanted to have a connection with my family and learn more about being Hispanic and about the culture.

Are you glad that you went to the conference?

Nadline: It was really nice seeing everyone happy and I felt happy as well. You could take a lot away from the two speakers that came and the workshops were nice as well. You could connect with the person next to you or have the same experiences as the people in your group.

London: I enjoyed my experience there because I really liked talking to people who were like me. That was fun and everyone was nice.

Matthew: I really liked meeting kids with my background in the affinity group.

Learn more about Carroll School's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.