This past Wednesday, the Diversity Ambassadors hosted an event called the, ‘Make an Imprint Conference’. The conference took place in the BSHS field house and consisted of 17 schools around the area, including the middle school, with over 200 students in attendance. Each school selected students to attend from different clubs their schools offer, like diversity, GSA, BCU, ASU, etc. Inviting so many schools created an atmosphere of diversity, due to the different backgrounds of each school. It created room for the members to network so they could bring ideas to each of their clubs.
The event began with speeches from four keynote speakers. This included Zaynab Zilitni, former Diversity Ambassadors president and current KU sophomore, Rick Moulin, the founder of our school diversity club and current deputy superintendent for USD 204, Dr. Sarah Andaverde, who is the Director of the School of Improvement for USD 204, and finally Chayce Richardson, who is the current president of the Diversity Ambassadors. Each speaker talked about their experiences with making an imprint in their lives and how diversity has impacted them. Creating a great start for the rest of the event.
The students were then divided into different groups, where they then attended one of the five stations. The stations focused on making an imprint in your club, community, school, and yourself. This gave the students time to socialize and hopefully discover something they would like to take back to their own club. The stations were led by the keynote speakers, guests from our community, and some of our Diversity Ambassadors. Great conversations and connections were made with the students.
To close off the event, there was first a pass the mic. Many of the students stepped forward to share their experiences from the day. The students talked about all the friendships and the ideas that they had at the conference. The conference’s purpose was for the clubs to learn how to better their clubs and bring diversity to their communities. The goal was definitely met by the Bonner Springs Diversity Ambassadors. Finally, there was a closing statement, which led to a performance from some of our DBA Step Team members. They brought the event to a close by inviting all the students to come join them and dance. This event could not have been possible if it was not for the BSHS Diversity Ambassadors, along with the sponsors, co-sponsor Ms. Benton, and sponsor Mrs. Harrell. Overall the event was a great success, there are plans to continue this event for many years to come!