Prep for Prep Students Present Their Research at the 2023 Aspects of Leadership Symposium

Prep for Prep high school students presented their research on topics of interest like AI art, journalistic bias, gentrification, and more at the 2023 Aspects of Leadership Symposium on Saturday, March 25. Prep for Prep’s Executive Director, Jackson Collins (XII), Ed.D., spoke with students about his Prep Journey and entrepreneurship in his keynote address.
To Prep for Prep students and alumni, Aspects of Leadership is a familiar phrase. Aspects has been required leadership curriculum for high school students in the Prep for Prep and PREP 9 programs since the early ’90s. These courses take place over three days and culminate in student-led discussion on pressing social issues. The Aspects of Leadership Symposium was created in 2020 as a natural offshoot of these discussions. It is intended to encourage students to continue asking questions in pursuit of deeper understanding of the world around them.

The third annual Aspects of Leadership Symposium marked the first time Prep has been able to hold this event in person. Students, alumni, donors, family, and friends gathered at LREI high school on Saturday, March 25. The event was also live streamed over Zoom for those who were unable to attend in person. After nearly three months of researching their chosen topics, with the guidance of at least one Prep alumni mentor, students became the teachers, presenting their findings to the larger Prep community. “It’s been a pleasure to host these weekly conversations on Zoom during the cold months and to see all of our students’ work come to fruition in person,” said Director of Leadership Development Projects Mike O’Leary. “Students reported at our roundtable discussion that, in addition to research skills, they got to work on time management, mentoring relationships, and public speaking. Everyone learned a lot!”
 
Prep for Prep Executive Director Jackson Collins (XII/Saint Ann's '96, Amherst '00) MA, Teachers College '09; EdD, Penn '18 was the event’s keynote speaker. As an alum of the program, he shared his Prep for Prep Journey with the audience. He also provided a look into his research methods for his doctoral thesis, which informs much of his work today. Finally, he encouraged students to cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit. He spoke from his own experience creating Cards on Race, a dynamic tool designed to help people examine race in a thoughtful, structured, and engaging way.

Thank you to all who were able to attend this year’s event. We are grateful to our alumni mentors for volunteering their time and expertise and for our Leadership Development Opportunities team that continues to cultivate engaging programming for our students. 

More information on each presentation can be found below. We hope to see you next year!

The History of Sterilization in the U.S.
presented by Julia C. (P9 XXXIII)
Alumni mentors: Gisselle Perez-Leon (XXVII/Dalton '11, Colgate '15) PhD, UC Berkeley '18  and Dominique Prieto (XXVI/Brooklyn Friends '10, Hampshire '16)
Trigger warning: This presentation includes discussion of forced sterilization.



Julia was inspired to research this topic after speaking with her aunt about the book War Against All Puerto Ricans by Nelson Antonio Denis. They began discussing the forced sterilization of Puerto Rican women beginning in the 1930s and extending to the 1950s. What began as a look into this act against Puerto Rican women soon expanded as she discovered a larger history of forced sterilization in the United States, with cases as recent as 2020. 

An Exploration of Race and Anti-Blackness in Professional Sports
presented by Jaeden C. (XL)
Alumni mentors: Matthew Blackburn (XXVI/Collegiate '10, Princeton '14) and Louis Melendez (XXIII/Trinity '07, Reed '11)



Whether or not you are interested in football, you’ve probably heard the name Colin Kaepernick. The way that the NFL handled Colin’s protest of police brutality against Black people by taking a knee during the national anthem led Jaeden to a larger investigation into the history of anti-blackness in professional sports, mainly the NFL and NBA. She opened a larger discussion on the non-white representation in sports leadership and the effectiveness of the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate for a coach role. The rule has gone through several changes since its implementation 20 years ago. 

AI Art and Morality
presented by Melody C. (XLII) 
Alumni mentor: Celine Guan (XXXI/Dalton '15, Dartmouth '19)



AI art is more than just a trend on social media. What do these programs mean for the art world in general? Melody investigates the ethical, legal, and economic implications of artificial intelligence  in the art community; the use of original work by these programs; and whether AI can be considered a tool in the same way we may view a paint brush or reference photo. 

An Investigation of Corporal Gentrification
presented by Leena M. (XLI)
Alumni mentor: Dominique Prieto (XXVI/Brooklyn Friends '10, Hampshire '16)



In her presentation, Leena defined gentrification and examined the effect corporations have on pricing out local residents who are often people of color. She questioned the use of other cultures by large corporations–what is appreciation versus appropriation? Leena also highlighted the importance of supporting local businesses.

Trinidad & Tobago: Exploring Crime and Corruption
presented by Kaitlyn G. (XL)
Alumni mentor: Jadeen Samuels (XXXII/Hewitt '16, Boston College '20)



Kaitlyn investigated an issue that is close to her heart. With family in Trinidad and Tobago, Kaitlyn researched crime and violence there and how the local and United States government has influenced its rise. She took a deeper look into programs like the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBIS) and The Gang Reduction and Community Empowerment (GRACE) Project.

Phonetic and Semantic Trends in Popular Music Lyrics 
presented by Kyle W. (XXXIX)
Alumni mentors: Yoel Zaid (XXXI/Horace Mann '15, Brown '19) and Jasmine Henry (XXXII/Trinity '16, Penn '20) MCIT, Penn '21



“Music is so unoriginal these days.” How often have you heard a complaint like that? Turns out, it isn’t so far from the truth. Kyle discovered that when it comes to what we sing about and how, not much has changed from one generation to the next. Inspired by his love of linguistics, Kyle took a deep dive into examining trends in popular music lyrics over the last few decades.

Mexican New York: Undocumented Mexican Immigration to NYC from 1990 - Present
presented by Alejandro R. (XXXIX)
Alumni mentors: Gisselle Perez-Leon (XXVII/Dalton '11, Colgate '15) PhD, UC Berkeley '18 and Yoel Zaid (XXXI/Horace Mann '15, Brown '19)



Alejandro presented the evolution of the Mexican community in New York City by focusing on two key factors: immigration to the city and how this has influenced urban planning and the social makeup of different boroughs. Alejandro looked at the support or lack of support provided to Mexican immigrant community members, and the education and opportunities available in neighborhoods heavily populated by these immigrants. His research began in the 1990s and extended to the present day.

Who Gets the Pen? Portrayal of Black and Latino Communities in Journalism 
presented by Bianca M. (XXXII) 
Alumni mentor: Esosa Ogbahon (P9 VI/Hotchkiss '97, Bucknell '01) MEd, CUNY Brooklyn College '04; MS, Columbia '07



Bianca explored what journalistic bias looks like by comparing coverage of the “War on Drugs” by The New York Times, a well-known white-owned newspaper, and The New York Amsterdam News, one of the largest black-owned newspapers in the nation, from the 1970s into the 2000s. She emphasized the importance of how the news characterizes citizens, neighborhoods, and lawmakers in their reporting.

An Alternate Approach to Education 2.0 
presented by Jyotirmoy D. (XL)* 
Alumni mentor Ngozi Max-Macarthy (P9 XX/Lawrenceville '11, Duke '15)

Online learning was a necessary consequence of the pandemic, but how does this type of learning compare to the traditional classroom? Are there other effective modes of learning? Jyotirmoy researched learning in the traditional classroom, online learning, home schooling, and the flipped classroom—sometimes used synonymously with the term “active learning”—to find the positives and negatives of each. 

*Due to illness, Jyotirmoy was unable to present their findings at the Symposium.
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