S T E W A R D NEWS
Harmony, Discord, and
the Notes in Between
A group of Steward students, faculty, and staff
attended the annual National Association of
Independent Schools’ People of Color Conference this
past November.
“It’s an experience I will never forget,” junior
Cameron Jarvandi said, speaking about his time at
the National Association of Independent Schools’
annual People of Color Conference (PoCC) in
Nashville, TN. This year’s conference took place
from November 28-December 1, and the theme
was “Harmony, Discord, and the Notes in Between,”
as it relates to equitable schools and inclusive
communities. PoCC was originally started in
1986 as a means to help faculty and staff of color
working in independent schools navigate their
careers and better care for students of color in
those institutions. The conference is now a venue
for faculty and staff of all ethnicities to discuss the
ways in which they can be a part of making their
institutions better places for people of color.
For as many years as we can remember, Steward
has been in attendance at PoCC. This year, Director
of Development and co-chair of the Diversity and
Inclusion Council Shawn Morrison, Upper School
Curriculum Dean and Director of Library Services
Melissa Freed, and Director of Upper School
Dr. Adam Seldis represented the school at the
conference, along with a group of Upper School
students attending the student-focused subset of
PoCC, the Student Diversity Leadership Conference
(SDLC). In addition to Cameron, student attendees
included Jonah Costen ‘21, Kennon Cummings
‘21, Kyndall Diamond ‘19, Allie Maxwell ‘19, and
Mary Pastore ‘21. All of the attendees agreed with
Cameron’s sentiment – the conference was eye-
opening.
“It is always a hugely uplifting experience to spend
a few days with other educators from around
the globe who take professional development
seriously,” Dr. Seldis said. “But to spend those two
days just focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion
– three incredibly important concepts to any good
8
|
The Colonnade
educational institution – was a blessing.”
Both students and faculty/staff members started off
the conference in the same room, listening to the
same keynote speakers. But then they parted ways
– Mr. Morrison, Mrs. Freed, and Dr. Seldis attended
panels and presentations under the PoCC umbrella,
and the Upper Schoolers participated in separate
activities with the SDLC subset.
One of the most memorable moments at SDLC for
both Cameron and Kyndall was hearing Christian
Picciolini speak. Mr. Picciolini is a former violent
extremist who is now an award-winning television
producer, speaker, and peace advocate. “When [Mr.
Picciolini] shared his story, it was so emotional,”
Cameron said. Hearing about the danger of hate
groups from someone who used to be on the inside
was something Cameron and Kyndall both said they
never thought they would experience.
For Mr. Morrison, too, the presentations and
discussions were enlightening. “As co-chair of
the Diversity and Inclusion Council, it felt very
relevant for me to go to PoCC from a professional
standpoint,” he said. “And from a personal
standpoint, I care a lot about, and have great
empathy for, students of color. It was so uplifting
and encouraging to hear about experiences from
other people working in independent schools. It
helped me feel even better about the work the
Diversity and Inclusion Council is doing at Steward.”
Each day of the conference was long and intensive,
so the chaperones assumed the students would be
exhausted when they picked them up at the end of
programming. “Instead,” Dr. Seldis said, “they were
so incredibly energetic and jazzed from their day,
and all had so much to share about what they had
learned and how they had changed as people. Quite
extraordinary.”
He added: “The real learning takes place when
they get back to Steward. The students are now
in possession of some important and powerful
information, and have learned from the best on how
to deliver that to other students. So we look to the
conference attendees to become student-leaders,
acting as a catalyst as we continue on our journey
of being as inclusive and equitable as we can be. As
faculty, we will guide the students as they go along
that journey, but we are excited to see where they
will take us.”
Cameron is already making plans for the ways
he is going to implement what he learned at
the conference. “I have a lot of ideas, including
incorporating group activities we participated in
at the conference into an assembly at school, and
starting a People of Color Club at Steward,” he said.
Kyndall agreed with the sentiment. “Everyone from
Steward who went to the conference wanted to
bring a tradition back that will hopefully continue
on for a while,” she said. “Like gatherings for Upper
School students to talk freely and participate in
activities that we learned while we were at the
conference.”
Mr. Morrison hopes that some of the skills the
students learned during SDLC will stay with them
for longer than just their time at Steward. “I believe
that by coming to this conference, the students
will leave with bits of knowledge that they can go
back to for encouragement and hope for the rest of
their lives,” he said. “No matter their circumstance,
they’ll always have the reminder that there are
thousands of other people who believe they deserve
to be treated with dignity. I hope they will be able
to take that and use it to encourage others.”