Nearly 50 students from Charlotte-area independent schools were encouraged to “find their place and lead the way” during the 2024 Ujima Diversity and Student Leadership Conference at Providence Day last week.

Along with Providence Day, students at the second annual event represented Charlotte Latin, Cannon and Charlotte Country Day schools.

“It is important that we are able to take time to facilitate the growth and development of our student leaders here at Providence Day and in the small independent school community we share with area schools,” says Dr. Julian Cook, the associate director of programs and education for Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, or EIB.

“This conference was an opportunity for students to dig deeper into their identities, perspectives, and experiences  and consider how those understandings inform their leadership skills and competencies.”

Guest speakers included 2016 Providence Day graduate and 2024 Olympics silver medalist Anna Cockrell, who encouraged them to make the most of the opportunity, Head of School Glyn Cowlishaw and Interim Head of Upper School Tosha Arriola.

While Dr. Cowlishaw reminded students to work together to understand differing perspectives and experiences, Ms. Arriola invited students to learn more about themselves and others in hopes of being more inclusive leaders who “effect real change.”

“[The experience was] designed to empower students with the tools and insights needed to discover their unique roles within their communities and lead with confidence,” Dr. Cook says. “Through interactive workshops, dynamic speakers, and collaborative discussions, attendees explored strategies for embracing diversity, cultivating inclusive environments, and forging connections that drive meaningful change.”

Tyrone Jean, Providence Day’s assistant head of school for Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, conducted the workshop “Real Talk: Exploring Social Identity as a Part of the Leadership Journey.”

“It is important to talk with students about identities because whether students recognize it or not, their identities are salient to them,” Mr. Jean says. “ As humans we make sense of the world by categorization and we have been socialized to do this since infancy. Their identities impact the ways in which they interact with the world and the way the world and people interact with them.”

Mr. Jean dove into the concept of social identities and explored the messages, assumptions, and associations connected to them. Together, students reflected on how their identities—such as race, gender, socioeconomic background, religion, and more—shape their experiences, perceptions, and interactions with the world around us.

“An individual's identities provide the lens to which they see and experience the world,” he says. “The more they come to be aware of their identities, and truly know their identities, the more they will know themselves and develop empathy and compassion for others who may identify differently.

He continues: “As a school we want to prepare students with awareness, knowledge, skills, dispositions, and tools to be global citizens and this begins with awareness of self.”

Educators hope students take their learning beyond the conference - deepening their empathy toward others and exercising curiosity over judgment of people. 

“I hope they will lean into that curiosity and ask questions of one another and try to learn where and how they are both similar and different from members in their community,” Mr. Jean says. “I hope that their knowledge of self will help them develop relationships with other people and learn to appreciate the value in all perspectives, even with ones they do not agree or align with.”