Continuing our Global Scholars speaker series, Westridge was pleased to host Rebecca Cox, social entrepreneur and Project Olas founder, last week! Cox helped kick off the day at an Upper School assembly, where she spoke about…

• her background and experience founding Project Olas—a relationship-centered language and cultural immersion program connecting Spanish language students from around the world with Guatemalan women (learn more about Project Olas here),
• the background of women participating in the program, and the context for why the work Project Olas is providing is crucial in helping break societal barriers,
• and the power students have to create change.

She then participated in a Q&A with students Maya C. '24 and Eliza W. '24 who are in the Global Scholars program.

"I think that as students at Westridge, you have immense power in the world, immense privilege, immense resources—the same was true of me at Georgetown University," said Cox. "It's our responsibility to use that positionality to make a difference in some of the global issues of our time. But at the same time, just because we have all of these resources and power, it doesn't mean we know how to go about things … [We must keep] listening and learning from the people who are directly impacted by these issues before we try to decide what to do."

She encouraged students to keep learning with intentional curiosity about the world to make a difference in global issues. Many of the students in attendance have worked with an Olas mom, as they're called, in the El Mundo Hispanohablante class. (Read more about the class and program in the fall 2023 issue of Surgere here!)

Later in the day, students in Spanish classes took an "on-campus field trip" to the PAC to hear from Cox—this time in Spanish, and later had the opportunity to try traditional treats from Guatemalteca Bakery, a local Guatemalan eatery, including sweet corn tamales, chapurradas (cookies) and rellenitos (fried mashed sweet plantains stuffed with sweet black beans).

What is the Global Scholars Program? The program provides a pathway for Upper School students to engage in meaningful transdisciplinary study of a modern-day global issue and act purposefully in the local-global context. Students propose and carry out research and projects that deepen their knowledge of the world and major contemporary issues confronting humanity. Those who successfully complete program requirements graduate with a Global distinction on their transcript. This year, there are 16 Global Fellows engaged in projects ranging from educational and healthcare access and equity to the political, societal, and environmental effects of nuclear weapons.