Student Leadership Series Impacts 115 Youth
Aaron Moniz (top left) and LeeAnne Lavender (2nd from top left) co-facilitated a wonderful 3-part student leadership series in September.
A 3-part Student Leadership Series recently involved 115 students from schools across the AISA (Association of International Schools in Africa) region and Inspire Citizens’ co-founder Aaron Moniz couldn’t be happier with the outcomes.
“It was incredible to see so many students come together online to learn about how they can approach leadership with sustainability and changemaking in mind,” says Aaron.
Aaron co-facilitated the 3-part series with Inspire Citizens storyteller LeeAnne Lavender. She is also the AISA Service Learning Program Coordinator and she, too, was excited about the students’ engagement in each session.
“Each session resulted in emails and messages from students who were reflecting on their current and proposed leadership initiatives,” says LeeAnne. “One student wrote, at the end of the series, that she was so happy to connect with like-minded individuals, express herself, and build her communication skills. Those are specific and positive impacts!”
In session 1, students explored their “why”: what they care about and why they want to serve in leadership positions. In session 2, they learned how to use four tools to assess current and future initiatives and projects for sustainability and inclusion. The tools were root cause analysis, the sustainability compass, SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats), and backmapping from desired futures. In session 3, students pitched their leadership/action ideas to peers and learned a feedback protocol called “stars and wishes”, and then created breakout room groups to discuss and ideate around aspects of leadership.
AISA has launched a new Student Design Team this year with 15 student leaders from international schools across Africa, and those students will keep working on growing student leadership initiatives through online and face-to-face events.
“We are deeply invested in student leadership at Inspire Citizens,” says Aaron. “The ripple effects of this partnership with AISA will have impact for years to come, and it will be exciting to see what these student leaders will do to create positive and purposeful change in their communities.”
