Kearsarge Regional High School Students Host Conference to Encourage Civic Engagement

For immediate release

NEW LONDON — Superintendent Winfried Feneberg is pleased to share that Kearsarge Regional High School students recently organized and hosted the second CARE (Community Action Resulting in Experiences) Conference, devoted to empowering students to make positive change within their communities.

More than 60 students and faculty from throughout the region gathered at the conference, held at the Professional Development Center on April 12. Panels and breakout sessions addressed topics including leadership, vulnerability, authenticity, and challenging ways to make a difference in your community. Each topic pointed to the main question: “How can individuals work together to create a more positive and successful community?”

Topics were:

• What common goals and values unite a community?  
• How has your community influenced your life in the past and how can you give back now?
• How can students help local businesses during challenging times?
• What aspects define a leader within a group of individuals?
• What can change in your community and how can you help make that change?

Educators attended a separate breakout group, discussing how to empower students to make change and how to trust in their abilities.

The conference was organized by Caroline Camp, Margo Del Giudice, Davis West, and Tori Wooten, members of the High School’s Students Working on Community Outreach (SWOCO) Club. The SWOCO Club was formed after students attended a Students Practicing Ethical Leadership (SPEL) conference at St. Anselm College in December 2018.

Camp and Del Giudice organized the conference as part of their senior project.

The CARE Conference is part of the overall High School Ethics Circles Program through St. Anselm College’s Center for Ethics in Business and Governance program, spearheaded by the Ethics Forum at Souhegan High School.

Kearsarge Social Studies Teacher Couper Gunn delivered the keynote address. Gunn also is Director of Social Media for the Sports Equality Foundation, captained the Colby-Sawyer College men’s soccer team in his junior and senior years, and served as president of the Colby-Sawyer Student Athletic Advisory Council.

Gunn spoke about his experiences on the Colby-Sawyer College soccer team, how his teammates supported him in his personal journey, and how showing his vulnerability led to the power to be a good leader.

‘I learned the power of student voice and engagement. Students from different schools came away feeling empowered to create change within their school and community and continue to make a difference,” Camp said. “Students discussed new ways to bring about change within their communities and the power of student leadership. I also learned the importance of networking and connections among schools in creating change within a school and community. When schools can support each other and work together to create change, it is easier to have lasting impacts within communities.”

The SWOCO Club also plans to hold a food drive to help homeless veterans, and is organizing efforts to help the crisis in Ukraine.

“The conference was extremely insightful and powerful,” Advisor Roddy said. “Congratulations to our organizers, and especially to Margo and Caroline for conducting such a meaningful senior project.”

“An event such as this allows our students to see how they are part of a much-larger world, and how they can have an impact,” Superintendent Feneberg said. “It is inspiring to see these students prepare themselves for a lifetime of civic involvement.”