Inspiring Global Leaders: Fulbright Youth Summit Empowers DC Students to Dream Big and Go Abroad

With big sheets of white paper in front of them and colored markers in their hands, high school students from across DC dreamed big about changing the world. Then, they drew those ideas on big blank canvases–an allegory that their imagination can shape their destiny. “There are so many different ways to go abroad, and it can open so many doorways in your career,” exclaimed Evelyn, one of the student participants.

That was just one of several activities during the Fulbright Youth Summit on Friday, October 25, 2024. Organized by Fulbright alumni from around the U.S. and DC-based organization College Bound, the Summit brought together 60 diverse high school students, introducing them to study abroad opportunities and encouraging them to choose international careers. 

“The energy in the room was incredible, you have to see it for yourself,” said Leland Lazarus (Fulbright ETA Panama 2013 and FA National Board Member), who co-founded the Youth Summit with Wen-kuni Ceant (Fulbright Senegal 2015 and FA National Board Member) in 2023. “It’s great to know we’re playing a small part to inspire the next generation of global leaders, right here in the nation’s capital.”

This year’s theme was Your Vision, Your World, Your Future. The day kicked off with an in-depth panel about living and studying abroad. It featured Jerica Lamar, a U.S. diplomat, former Peace Corps volunteer to the Philippines and founder of The New College Perspective; Dr. Lily Lopez-McGhee, Senior Director of Diplomatic Programs at Howard University and former Executive Director of Diversity Abroad; and Brandom Hernandez, a recently returned Fulbrighter from Spain and member of Fulbright Latinx. Each shared stories about adjusting to living abroad, learning hard languages and making lifelong international friends.

Next, the students engaged in a Dream Building activity led by Dr. Patrice Moulton (Fulbright Specialist Nepal 2018) and Allison Gilmore (Fulbright ETA Austria 2020). The students discussed four themes: Elections and Politics, Security and Diplomacy, Education and Technology, and Energy and Environment. Then, they drew photos or graffiti to symbolize the key issues and put them on four big canvases representing each theme. This resulted in beautiful murals that will last for posterity.

The day ended with an International Exchange Fair, where students walked around to different booths to learn about the Fulbright, Boren, Critical Language Scholarship, Gilman, and other programs. In total, 15 like-minded organizations set up booths at the event.

A post-event survey showed 96 percent of the students learned new information about international exchange programs, 98 percent would recommend the Youth Summit to their friends, and 100 percent identified as students of color.

“The Youth Summit is an unprecedented opportunity for young people who would not have heard about Fulbright or other international exchange programs until college to get exposed to the world of study abroad,” said co-founder Wen-kuni Ceant. “The exposure (the students) gleaned there continues to change lives as we strive to bolster the numbers of minority students that participate in these prestigious study abroad fellowships.”

“The opportunity to partner with Fulbright for such an amazing event helps to change the trajectory for the public school students,” said Kenneth Ward, Executive Director of College Bound. “Prior to this experience there were few, if any, of my students who knew about the extraordinary experiences that Fulbright can provide. After participating in the Youth Summit, they now know of a myriad of pathways to find their place in a global society.”

The first Youth Summit took place in Denver, Colorado in 2023 as part of the Fulbright Association National Conference. This year the event was also held right before the opening reception of the 2024 Conference. The State Department’s Citizen Diplomacy Action Fund, Schoellkopf Family Foundation, and Humanity United financially supported the Summit. The organizing team aspires to leverage the 54 Fulbright Chapters to host Youth Summits in cities across the nation. 

Quoting from the hit musical Hamilton, Leland Lazarus said to his fellow organizers: “This is not a moment–it’s a movement. We’re going to bring the global to local young people all across America.”