By Darryl Gangloff

A delegation of six Hotchkiss students traveled to England from Sept. 16-25 to participate in the Round Square international conference, where they learned about the ideals of internationalism, democracy, environmentalism, adventure, leadership, and service from worldwide peers and inspiring speakers.

Hotchkiss is a longtime member of Round Square, a network of 230 like-minded schools in 50 countries. “It gives us a chance to connect with a diverse group of schools around the world,” says Director of International Programs David Thompson.

The six cohort members were Sahil Annamaneni ’24, Abigail Gugsa ’24, Jaidyn Hurst ’23, Aster Lee Lufkin ’23, Richardine Mamam Nbiba ’23, and Jason Shan '23. They traveled with Director of the Edsel Ford Memorial Library Cory Stevens and Kinyette Henderson, co-director of diversity, equity, and inclusion, Walter Crain Fellow, and instructor in English.

Below are some reflections from their journey.

Sahil Annamaneni ’24 – Days 1-3

"After we arrived at the hotel, we ate at Nandos, a famous South African spot in London. We walked around Westminster Abbey and then rushed to Regents Park where we attended a picnic with a handful of other Round Square schools from California, New York, and Cambridge, MA. We ended our night enjoying a production of Matilda in London's West End. On Sunday the group did more sightseeing--some went to see The Tempest at the Globe Theater, while others went to the Tate Modern, St. Paul's Cathedral, and the London Eye. The day ended with a dinner at the home of Elodie Marran '17 and Maddie Marran '21. Monday afternoon featured tea with a South African school, walking around Oxford with an Australian school, and then to bed to get ready for the opening ceremony on Tuesday." 

Jaidyn Hurst ’23 – Day 4

"The opening ceremony consisted of everyone wearing their school uniforms or cultural dress. Over 150 Round Square schools were represented, with more than 1,500 people in attendance. We formed Baraza groups and met all of the delegates in our college. The Hotchkiss delegation is living in Pembroke College, which is incredibly beautiful. Within the Baraza groups, we discussed differences between our schools and cultures. Each group has students from over 10 countries. We attended a speaker series of seven accomplished alumni from Round Square schools. One woman was a world champion wakeboarder and a graphic designer. Another woman was the founder of an organization called Bee Loved, which builds bee hives in Africa to create sustainability. We listened to the creator of the Noah Initiative, which helps underprivileged boys in Kenya follow their dreams while also giving them positive male mentors. During the night, we enjoyed cultural performances from many of the schools. Today was very inspiring, overwhelming, and interesting." (Jaidyn performed a song, marking the first time a Hotchkiss delegate has contributed to the cultural evening since the first conference the School attended in 2002.)

Richardine Mamam Nbiba ’23 – Day 5

"We enjoyed words from two fantastic speakers regarding climate change. Sir Dieter Helm, a professor of economic policy at the University of Oxford, gave an amazing presentation on the individual impact that we create with our personal carbon footprint and our cumulative impact on the planet. He encouraged us to keep carbon diaries in order to track our footprint and actively reduce our impacts by 'taking less' in order to give more to the environment. Emily Penn, an ocean advocate, skipper, and founder of eXXpedition, spoke about pollution and its impact on the Pacific islands. Plastic pollution, in particular, continues to play a major impact on aquatic life: 'there are more than 5 trillion fragments of plastic in our oceans.' We returned to our Baraza groups and debriefed, including a discussion of different cultural and societal norms and what role they play in a country's outlook on pollution and climate change. Our Baraza groups traveled the city and explored historic sites, including the New College Courtyard where Harry Potter was filmed. Then we enjoyed words from Ben Fogle, who was a contestant on season one of Castaway, climbed Mount Everest, and walked to the North Pole. He used his story to motivate us to step outside of our comfort zones, strive to achieve more than we think we can, and overall enjoy the journey."

Jason Shan ’23 – Day 7

"We walked to AKS Lytham, the school hosting us, to hear Sarah Brook talk about her career in service. She founded the Sparkle Foundation to promote a more sustainable form of community development that includes education, nutrition, and health care. Brook has two messages for students interested in service: the first requires individuals to be resilient, and the second relates back to the success of the Sparkle Foundation, where a devoted focus and understanding of the community is necessary to address the struggles they face. My Baraza group had a great conversation about the way community service is integrated into our respective schools. It was interesting to hear about schools around the world (my group had students from Peru, the UK, India, South Africa, Canada, Australia, and more) while also sharing about the St. Luke's Society and other Hotchkiss service activities. After lunch we completed service activities such as building bird houses, cleaning the nearby beach, working in the community garden, and making a dirt road."

Abigail Gugsa ’24 – Final Day

"We spent the day in and around the Lake District. We enjoyed water sports on the lake, a water cruise to a large castle surrounded by lots of sheep, a visit to a plant-based café, and a trip to a local town full of shops. After dinner we went on a walk by the beach with one of the Peruvian delegations. We then went to both hotels to say goodbye to our friends from the other delegations, then went to our rooms to pack for our travels back to Hotchkiss."