HKIS TODAY
STUDENT LIFE
Middle School
Reflections on
Social Leadership
Middle School Students Attend the Global Social Leaders Conference
by Ariane Lee ’25 , Dana Kim ’25, Marissa Miller ’25
"This conference inspired us to not only become better leaders but also better individuals. We learned a variety of leadership styles, goal setting, and self-awareness skills..."
Fifteen Middle School students from the Student Leadership Team (SLT) attended the Global Social Leaders (GSL) conference on March 17 over the course of three consecutive days. Ambitious student leaders from all over the world participated in this event via Zoom. The main goals for the program allowed us to learn new leadership skills and mindsets, collaborate with other students our age, and become empowered to serve others by taking action toward making the world a better place in the future.
Each one of us grew as leaders by learning from the coach/mentors and each other. SLT members learned a wide range of leadership skills that we then tried to use to implement into our own leadership at HKIS. Here in the Middle School, the SLT has the responsibility to lead each of our four grade-level Pastoral Care Groups, like a homeroom, that make up our five house structure. Many see us leading monthly House Gatherings and Spirit Activities throughout the year. We also are involved in many student-led committees that require student voices as we strive to serve our community through living out the mission and vision of the school. This conference inspired us to not only become better leaders but also better individuals. We learned a variety of leadership styles, goal setting, and self-awareness skills through participating in various breakout room activities and listening to the speeches of inspirational leaders.
Each one of us grew as leaders by learning from the coach/mentors and each other. SLT members learned a wide range of leadership skills that we then tried to use to implement into our own leadership at HKIS. Here in the Middle School, the SLT has the responsibility to lead each of our four grade-level Pastoral Care Groups, like a homeroom, that make up our five house structure. Many see us leading monthly House Gatherings and Spirit Activities throughout the year. We also are involved in many student-led committees that require student voices as we strive to serve our community through living out the mission and vision of the school. This conference inspired us to not only become better leaders but also better individuals. We learned a variety of leadership styles, goal setting, and self-awareness skills through participating in various breakout room activities and listening to the speeches of inspirational leaders.
Making An Impact Salar Soltan '27 and Dylan Burgess '27 greet fellow future global leaders.
Leadership can mean a variety of different things for different people. In the GSL conference, we learned that a leader does not always have to be in the frontline. Through a photo of a wolf pack, we learned that the leader wolf stays at the back, not at the front, like we had initially thought. This was a great metaphor for us to think about, because sometimes, a leader has a significant role in staying at the back to ensure everyone’s safety and tie everyone’s hearts together especially when we feel that our group’s bond is deteriorating.
One of the other key messages the inspirational speakers talked about multiple times was, whatever idea or plan we have as leaders, that we should act right now. They stressed the importance of immediate action, and transforming our ideas into creating tangible positive effects to our community. When asking our Middle School leaders what they learned, one said, “You can't let race, age, or gender define how you lead, and that anyone can make a difference with perseverance.” Another student said, “Leadership is about inspiring, empowering, and helping others. I learned how important your first followers are because they are the ones who get other people to join and show others how to get involved.”
One of the other key messages the inspirational speakers talked about multiple times was, whatever idea or plan we have as leaders, that we should act right now. They stressed the importance of immediate action, and transforming our ideas into creating tangible positive effects to our community. When asking our Middle School leaders what they learned, one said, “You can't let race, age, or gender define how you lead, and that anyone can make a difference with perseverance.” Another student said, “Leadership is about inspiring, empowering, and helping others. I learned how important your first followers are because they are the ones who get other people to join and show others how to get involved.”
In the Middle School Student Services Center Dana Kim '25, Ariane Lee '25, and Lauren Tse '25 settle into day one of the conferences over Zoom in the SSC.
To conclude, in the GSL conference, SLT members learned that it is perfectly fine to make mistakes. Through our weaknesses and mistakes, we get to nurture ourselves to be better leaders and acquire new knowledge that can help us in the future. When we asked the GSL coaches what they did when trying to learn from their mistakes, they told us that it was effective for them to write their mistakes down and reflect on them thoroughly. From this experience, many of us learned crucial lessons and ways that we can grow as a leader and also as an individual. This was definitely a very memorable and an amazing learning experience and an inspiring stepping stone in becoming a better leader.
Click here to read a poem by all conference attendees on
what they can achieve together.
what they can achieve together.