Listening With Empathy, Leading With Purpose

Friends is proud to join the Institute for Global Learning in building on the incredible momentum of last year’s virtual dialogues. Thanks to the leadership of partner schools around the world, 745 students from 59 schools across 18 states and 10 countries came together to engage in meaningful, student-driven dialogue. These conversations are more than academic—they are grounded in empathy, powered by curiosity, and rooted in the Quaker belief that truth emerges when we listen deeply and seek understanding across differences.

At Friends, dialogue is both a practice and a way of being. It reflects the School’s commitment to honoring multiple perspectives, fostering connection, and upholding the dignity of each person. These values shape Friends’ global education programming, which equips students to navigate a pluralistic world with integrity, humility, and care.

A central component of this work is the Global Student Dialogues initiative, offered in collaboration with the Institute for Global Learning, a leading nonprofit that helps K–12 schools integrate global perspectives into curricula. Now in its fourth year at Friends, the partnership gives students a unique opportunity to connect in small groups with peers from over 22 countries and across North America to explore topics of global significance. These conversations are not debates, but intentional spaces of shared inquiry where students practice the essential skills of civil discourse: listening for understanding, asking open-ended questions, and recognizing the lived experiences of others.

Friends students have embraced these opportunities not just as participants, but as leaders. Bode ’26, Meera ’26, and Sebby ’28 serve as moderators for Global Student Dialogues, helping to select discussion topics, formulate queries, and facilitate breakout sessions that foster open, respectful dialogue. Meera ’26 has also served for two years on the Student Advisory Council for the Institute, reinforcing Friends Seminary’s commitment to student leadership in global education. Their work reflects a shared goal: to create a space where every voice is heard and every story matters.

Most recently, on Thursday, November 20, Friends Seminary hosted a dialogue titled “Social Media: Tool, Distraction, or Something In Between?”—inviting students to examine the evolving role of social media in their education and social lives. The discussion surfaced honest reflections on digital boundaries, attention, and identity—and asked whether limiting social media in schools addresses the root of the challenge or overlooks deeper systemic dynamics.

The program is also supported by faculty, including Kara Kutner, Director of the Center for Peace, Equity, and Justice. As a former member of the Educator Advisory Council, Kara has contributed to the development of curricular materials that inspire students to become engaged, ethical global citizens—capable of leading with both vision and compassion.

Whether speaking into the silence of the Meetinghouse or engaging in global conversations across time zones, students are learning to lead not with certainty, but with curiosity—to listen, to question, and to imagine a world that ought to be.