Crossroads News

Upper School Student Presents at California Youth Leadership Summit

Sophomore Meazi Light-Orr discusses world peace and cooperation and inspires global activism among peers at Crossroads.
When sophomore Meazi Light-Orr learned about the California Youth Leadership Summit (CYLS), she saw an opportunity to become more involved in international relations. “I strive to be a globally minded individual who is culturally aware and engaged,” says Meazi. “So the opportunity to speak with other passionate youth like myself was fortunate.”
 
Meazi’s application, one of over 80 submitted, was accepted for the summit’s World Peace and Cooperation panel, comprising three other high school students and two college students from across the state. Their discussion, moderated by Los Angeles’ Deputy Mayor of International Affairs Nina Hachigian, was livestreamed as part of CYLS on Saturday, Feb. 6, with an estimated 2,500 student-attendees.
 
“We talked about our role in promoting international cooperation; what sets our generation apart from those of our predecessors; and most importantly the importance of world peace and international cooperation for the future ahead of us,” notes Meazi. “We also discussed the globalizing force that is social media, its pros and cons, and what tools like social media can be used to promote a more international perspective rather than a ‘me-first’ national one.”
 
Meazi particularly enjoyed having the chance to learn from Deputy Mayor Hachigian. “I took the time to ask her about her career as an ambassador and a security advisor to the State Department, and she was really generous with her advice and information,” reflects Meazi.
 
Although Meazi had hoped to study abroad in China this past year, her plans were canceled due to the pandemic. But she has not stopped thinking of ways to increase her global impact. Meazi and her family have worked with the Tesfa Foundation since 2012 to help build a school in the village of Kololo, Ethiopia, where Meazi was born. Now she hopes to expand the school and create a service-learning trip to Kololo for her fellow Crossroads students. You can read more about Meazi’s plans in an article she wrote for the latest issue of The Activist, the newsletter of the Crossroads School Equity & Justice Institute. Meazi was also recently accepted to the School for Ethics and Global Leadership, a highly selective semester-long residential program that fosters students’ ethical thinking skills, leadership development and understanding of international affairs.
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