Each year University Prep sends a handful of students to the nationwide Student Diversity Leadership Conference. Due to the pandemic, the conference, spanning from Nov. 29 to Dec. 3 was virtual this year.
“SDLC is a conference for students from independent schools across the world to come together to engage with topics of diversity, equity and inclusion. The goal of the conference is for students to garner tools to help lead DEI work at their school and beyond,” Patrick King said.
King is the Diversity and Community Program Manager at UPrep and oversees the school’s participation in this event. This year, King chaperoned UPrep’s SDLC student attendees at an Airbnb to help mirror the intimacy and privacy of a normal, in-person year at the conference.
King believes SDLC is an amazing opportunity for UPrep students of color to connect with each other.
“I hope to meet other students of color from PWIs [predominantly white institutions] and share our experiences,” senior Jamila Abdilahi said going into her first year of SDLC. “It allows students like me to relate with other students from around the country and finally feel like the things they experience are validated and that they aren’t alone.”
After a couple of years virtual, SDLC is set to return in-person for 2022 in the city of San Antonio, Texas. UPrep students may have a chance to participate in-person with this!