The end of the semester is a busy time of year, and it can be hard for students to take on more work. That didn’t stop 25 Seabury students from signing up for this year’s inaugural Diversity Student Leadership Conference, which Bishop Seabury on May fifth along with the other Lawrence Public High Schools. 

    As far as content goes, the conference consisted of three main parts. “We have a national speaker, Dr. Jamie Washington, who will speak to action and responsibility that we must take to make a positive difference,” says Robert Page, a Seabury parent who helped organize the conference. “We also have several workshops that provide students with foundational principles of diversity theory. Then the highlight of the day will be the opportunity for students to break into groups and discuss what are the next steps.”

    As for how the idea for a conference originated, faculty member Leslie McCaffrey says,  “Mr. Page came [to school] one evening and did a training for some students. They talked about ideas for this year and what they wanted to do, and this was one of the ideas.”

    During this year’s conference, the majority of the material and discussion focused on race relations, but in future years other topics will be on the agenda. “We have actually been approached by other school districts outside of Lawrence that want to do this, and so I am hopeful that it will be even bigger than just Lawrence schools in future years,” says McCaffrey.

    The conference is a great opportunity for students to grow together and learn how to be active members of a more inclusive community. “I think it is our goal that students engage and leave with a sense of action; that they encourage and involve themselves in making a difference in their communities and at Bishop Seabury when it comes to treating others with dignity and respect,” says Page.