Startland Education Presents at Big Bang Conference

In July, Startland team members Veronica Alvidrez and Malikah Fard-Allah had the opportunity to present at the Big Bang Conference, Big Picture Learning’s annual conference. Big Bang offers a collaborative platform for students, educators, leaders, and partners to share successes, lessons learned, and new methods in student-centered learning.

Veronica and Malikah’s conference session – “A Time to Lead” – focused on tools for development and encouraging youth leaders. The two-part presentation featured a panel of five students who participated in Startland’s Social Change Internship program. After sharing their perspectives and advice for fostering youth leadership opportunities, the student panel joined conference attendees in a design thinking sprint. The sprint initiated conversations and ideas to create more opportunities to activate youth leaders and help students foster an entrepreneurial mindset. 

Key Takeaways

“We tend to doubt ourselves a lot, whether it be societal pressures or our own inner critic, and I think having community partners who want to see you succeed and have the same goals as you do can be really inspiring and motivational.”
- Kripa Gauba, Co-Founder Girls Lead (Blue Valley West High School)

“We need to give the youth a place to uplift their points of view, and create the opportunities and environments where they can use their voice and turn their passions into something that’s beneficial for the school.” 
- Skyelar Anderson, Senior Ray-Pec High School