About two months ago, I received an email saying that I had been accepted to attend the 2014 Junior Advisory Board in Spain, a conference held by IE University where 15 selected high school juniors from around the globe embark on an all-expenses-paid trip to discuss the biggest problems facing higher education, and to find a way in which a "university of the future" could realistically confront and resolve these challenges. |
As I sat on the plane on Friday and looked back at my JAB experience, I realized that what I learned went far beyond the conference's initial focus.
Over the past week I was given the privilege to meet and work with 14 people from around the world, from places like Lebanon, Switzerland, Japan, the Kingdom of Swaziland, India, Jordan, Columbia, Greece, etc.
To be completely honest, the first day I was really scared because I felt that I was surrounded by fourteen miniature Einstein's, and I felt out of place. But as the days went by, I came to realize that more than being smart, these 14 people had a passion for learning, and that is something I felt I could relate to.
Throughout the conference, I felt that I was genuinely being listened to. It wasn't one of those conversations were although everyone is "hearing", only a small group of people are actually listening. You would think that we had to be very careful about what we said because we were all from such different parts of the world, but surprisingly, none of us were afraid to share what we had to say because while we were all so
DIFFERENT, we were also all very
ACCEPTING.
Over the past week I was given the privilege to meet and work with 14 people from around the world, from places like Lebanon, Switzerland, Japan, the Kingdom of Swaziland, India, Jordan, Columbia, Greece, etc.
To be completely honest, the first day I was really scared because I felt that I was surrounded by fourteen miniature Einstein's, and I felt out of place. But as the days went by, I came to realize that more than being smart, these 14 people had a passion for learning, and that is something I felt I could relate to.
Throughout the conference, I felt that I was genuinely being listened to. It wasn't one of those conversations were although everyone is "hearing", only a small group of people are actually listening. You would think that we had to be very careful about what we said because we were all from such different parts of the world, but surprisingly, none of us were afraid to share what we had to say because while we were all so
DIFFERENT, we were also all very
ACCEPTING.
On the last night, we stayed up late and played truth or dare. When I say truth or dare, however, I don't mean the typical "How many girls have you kissed" version of the game. We asked each other questions like "Do you think you deserve to be where you are in life", and "If you had three wishes to do anything in the world what would they be?".
My friend Rahul from India explained how despite feeling deserving of this opportunity, and overcoming a lot in life to get here, he feels guilty for being at this all expense-paid trip because there are thousands of people in India who can't even afford to pay for a decent meal or an education. I completely understand where he is coming from; we see so much poverty in our every day lives, and yet we go out and buy things that we don't even need. I'm no exception. And although one part of me feels deserving of this opportunity, it also makes me think how many people I could have helped with the money that was invested in me to come here.
My friend Aia, from Lebanon, explained how she would only ask for one wish, and that would be to make the world a F A I R E R place. Not more equal, but more fair. One clear example of this is in school. There are so many people around the world that buy their way through high school and college despite having all the means to succeed on their own. They cheat on exams, pay prestigious universities in order to get admitted , and have professional write their college research papers.
Is that fair?
My friend Rahul from India explained how despite feeling deserving of this opportunity, and overcoming a lot in life to get here, he feels guilty for being at this all expense-paid trip because there are thousands of people in India who can't even afford to pay for a decent meal or an education. I completely understand where he is coming from; we see so much poverty in our every day lives, and yet we go out and buy things that we don't even need. I'm no exception. And although one part of me feels deserving of this opportunity, it also makes me think how many people I could have helped with the money that was invested in me to come here.
My friend Aia, from Lebanon, explained how she would only ask for one wish, and that would be to make the world a F A I R E R place. Not more equal, but more fair. One clear example of this is in school. There are so many people around the world that buy their way through high school and college despite having all the means to succeed on their own. They cheat on exams, pay prestigious universities in order to get admitted , and have professional write their college research papers.
Is that fair?
Fair not only to the students that are working their
buts off, but fair to the people who D R E A M of receiving an E D U C A T I O N?
buts off, but fair to the people who D R E A M of receiving an E D U C A T I O N?
In my opinion, it's not, and it's something that frustrates me, especially because I see it happen a lot. But something Rahul told me--and he's completely right-- is that at the end of the day, the people that buy their way through life aren't successful because they're not truly learning. I rather look back at my life and know that I've earned where I stand, not live with the guilt and consciousness of knowing I paid my way through it.
One of the stories that most impacted me was that of my friend Alwaleed, from Saudi Arabia. He was the first person I met, the last person I said goodbye to, and probably one of the people I have most respect for. He has the biggest passion for physics--his dream is to study theoretical physics at Cambridge University--and he is currently living in London by himself so that he can complete the IB Diploma.
His parents live in Saudi Arabia, therefore, he is basically a 17 year old living an adult life. He told me how he doesn't need a teacher to learn, because to him, education is so valuable that even it it means that he must read a huge textbook by himself, he'll do it. He's watched four movies in his entire life--he loves watching documentaries--and when asked whether he's ever drunk alcohol he said "absolutely not".
His parents live in Saudi Arabia, therefore, he is basically a 17 year old living an adult life. He told me how he doesn't need a teacher to learn, because to him, education is so valuable that even it it means that he must read a huge textbook by himself, he'll do it. He's watched four movies in his entire life--he loves watching documentaries--and when asked whether he's ever drunk alcohol he said "absolutely not".
He's different, and I
LOVE that. One of the things I really didn't understand was how everyone was aware of the problems facing education but they are still all planning to attend universities that embody many of these problems. My friend Kerem--from Turkey--said he didn't believe that attending an Ivy League was the best option for many of us because it was clear that we weren't looking for a traditional education. We were looking for real world experiences, hands on learning, relevancy, and personalization.
Nonetheless, the problem that many mentioned was that attending an Ivy League is like giving yourself a brand, it secures you a good future. And although I understand their point of view completely, I also believe that it isn't your college degree that will get you far in life, it is who you are how hard you work. Yes, the college you attend can play a role in your future, but it is most certainly not the only determining factor of success. Plus, if we all attend these universities just because they ensure us "safety", wll education ever change? I think we need people like Rahul, Aia, and Karem, to drive the change in education, and to make universities realize that there is more than one way of learning, and the university we attend should mirror the way we learn best.
Something that came up in our conversation was how we all have this guilt when we are not working. But what does working really mean? Is it sitting in front of a textbook and taking notes? Is it writing essays? Schools have engraved this idea in our minds that when we're not "working", as in sitting in front of a pen and paper, or on our computers, we're not learning. But doesn't the best learning come from experience? We didn't learn how to talk or walk by sitting in front of a piece of paper, we learned by actually doing it. Thus, we shouldn't feel guilty for doing the things we love, because for the most part, we are probably learning more by doing them than by reading off a text book.
I could probably go on for hours about each of the 14 people I met, the conversations I had with them, and the experiences we shared, because they are one of the most different and genuine group of people I've gotten the chance to work with. This experience proved to me that the country we come from, the color of our skin and the languages we speak are just tiny barriers we must overcome to understand how similar we really are to one another. I really hope that some day, and some time in the future, I get to meet up with each and everyone of these people again, because I would love to see the remarkable things that they are going to do with their lives.
Nonetheless, the problem that many mentioned was that attending an Ivy League is like giving yourself a brand, it secures you a good future. And although I understand their point of view completely, I also believe that it isn't your college degree that will get you far in life, it is who you are how hard you work. Yes, the college you attend can play a role in your future, but it is most certainly not the only determining factor of success. Plus, if we all attend these universities just because they ensure us "safety", wll education ever change? I think we need people like Rahul, Aia, and Karem, to drive the change in education, and to make universities realize that there is more than one way of learning, and the university we attend should mirror the way we learn best.
Something that came up in our conversation was how we all have this guilt when we are not working. But what does working really mean? Is it sitting in front of a textbook and taking notes? Is it writing essays? Schools have engraved this idea in our minds that when we're not "working", as in sitting in front of a pen and paper, or on our computers, we're not learning. But doesn't the best learning come from experience? We didn't learn how to talk or walk by sitting in front of a piece of paper, we learned by actually doing it. Thus, we shouldn't feel guilty for doing the things we love, because for the most part, we are probably learning more by doing them than by reading off a text book.
I could probably go on for hours about each of the 14 people I met, the conversations I had with them, and the experiences we shared, because they are one of the most different and genuine group of people I've gotten the chance to work with. This experience proved to me that the country we come from, the color of our skin and the languages we speak are just tiny barriers we must overcome to understand how similar we really are to one another. I really hope that some day, and some time in the future, I get to meet up with each and everyone of these people again, because I would love to see the remarkable things that they are going to do with their lives.