Students Attend Diversity Conference
In early November, four St. Mark's students attended the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) in Atlanta, Georgia. Davis Yoo ’19, David Vallejo ’19, CJ Crawford ’19, and Kannan Sharma ’18 gathered with other high school student leaders from across the nation to learn about positive and effective community building.
“By talking through problems, we realized the importance of loving and caring about everyone no matter where they come from, what they look like, or what they believe,” said Kannan Sharma ’18. “By having discussions focused on key concepts like gender, religion, and ability, we could come to conclusions about how to improve our society and create an even more loving and nurturing environment.”
Led by a team of trained adult and peer facilitators, the students developed cross-cultural communication skills, learned about effective strategies for social justice, and practiced expression through the arts. In addition to large group sessions, the Conference’s "family groups" and "home groups" allowed for small group dialogue and sharing.
“The SDLC showed me the importance of holding open dialogues where everyone can share his or her own opinion,” said David Vallejo ’19. “I hope that I can encourage those within the community to take part in these types of dialogues more often so that we may become even more unified and accepting.”
While the Marksmen attended the SDLC, St. Mark’s faculty members Scott Gonzalez and Marjorie Curry attended the concurrent People of Color Conference. The PoCC is an initiative of the National Association of Independent Schools that seeks to connect people of color and allies of all backgrounds across the independent school community. Scott Gonzalez serves as the Assistant Head of Upper School, Provost, and Dean of Campus, and Marjorie Curry is a math instructor and Director of the Visiting Scholars Program.
Back
“By talking through problems, we realized the importance of loving and caring about everyone no matter where they come from, what they look like, or what they believe,” said Kannan Sharma ’18. “By having discussions focused on key concepts like gender, religion, and ability, we could come to conclusions about how to improve our society and create an even more loving and nurturing environment.”
Led by a team of trained adult and peer facilitators, the students developed cross-cultural communication skills, learned about effective strategies for social justice, and practiced expression through the arts. In addition to large group sessions, the Conference’s "family groups" and "home groups" allowed for small group dialogue and sharing.
“The SDLC showed me the importance of holding open dialogues where everyone can share his or her own opinion,” said David Vallejo ’19. “I hope that I can encourage those within the community to take part in these types of dialogues more often so that we may become even more unified and accepting.”
While the Marksmen attended the SDLC, St. Mark’s faculty members Scott Gonzalez and Marjorie Curry attended the concurrent People of Color Conference. The PoCC is an initiative of the National Association of Independent Schools that seeks to connect people of color and allies of all backgrounds across the independent school community. Scott Gonzalez serves as the Assistant Head of Upper School, Provost, and Dean of Campus, and Marjorie Curry is a math instructor and Director of the Visiting Scholars Program.
St. Mark’s School of Texas
10600 Preston Road
Dallas, Texas 75230
214-346-8000
Dallas, Texas 75230
214-346-8000
About Us
St. Mark’s School of Texas is a private, nonsectarian college-preparatory boys’ day school for students in grades 1 through 12, located in Dallas, Texas. St. Mark’s aims to prepare young men to assume leadership and responsibility in a competitive and changing world.
St. Mark’s does not discriminate in the administration of its admission and education policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.
St. Mark’s does not discriminate in the administration of its admission and education policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.
