What a weekend. Amidst gorgeous spring temperatures and blue skies in Oxford, this past weekend I attended the annual Global Scholars' Symposium (GSS) conference, held this year at Rhodes House. Over a hundred delegates from nine different scholarships (Rhodes, Marshall, Gates, Clarendon, Commonwealth, Fulbright, etc.) and many different universities across the UK (Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, LSE, and many more) congregated to listen to engaging speakers, participate in panel discussions and small group activities, and have engaging conversations centering around the theme "Dare to Differ." How can we each find the courage to pursue our personal goals to effect change and do good in the world, even when this means challenging the status quo or being different ourselves? How can we make a positive difference in our communities? What does community mean, and which causes matter to us? How can we work within our personal contexts or personal privileges, and also within the larger structural context of the world we live in, to manage risk and take action to promote change? We spent the entire weekend wrestling with these and other related questions, and it was invigorating to meet some new faces and engage in dialogue with some brilliant young people from all over the world. Photo from GSS:
The weekend started with registration and welcome drinks on Thursday night, then continued through three VERY full but very rewarding days on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. After presenting at my master's strand conference on Wednesday (and frantically working on my dissertation before that), it's been a busy couple of days! Off to bed...
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