Around the World in 10 Days

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Potomac Falls Global Ambassadors hosts their first Opening Ceremony for the Loudoun International Youth Leadership Summit

As the Loudoun International Youth Leadership Summit grows closer, Potomac Falls Global Ambassadors prepares for an action packed 10 days, which will kick off with an Opening Ceremony at Potomac Falls on April 10. As a lead up to the Summit, the Opening Ceremony recognizes the international students traveling from a variety of countries with a flag parade.

In addition to the flag parade, the county student chair greets all the visitors and students attending the ceremony. Musical performances by the Potomac Falls artist guitar group, band, chorus, and drama department will be a part of the event as well. This year, Paula Williams Madison, a former TV executive and journalist, will be the keynote speaker.

“All the performances, and the flag parade will definitely give an outlook of what our school is like to the delegates. The speaker this year comes from a very unique background, and I’m very excited for the speech,” said club officer Sanchali Ghosh.

Six other schools in Loudoun County participate in the Summit and hosting the Opening Ceremony is shared among them, switching locations every year. This is the first year that Potomac Falls is hosting the ceremony. “With our wonderful officers on board this year, we felt we could provide a fantastic opening to the Summit,” said Global Ambassadors sponsor, Helen Chang.

On April 9, prior to the ceremony, all the international students and club members attend a field trip to D. C. for sightseeing and to become familiar with one another. “The rest of the week will include various field trips, dialogues about world issues, and just having a great time with everyone,” said club officer Adrienne Yeh.

Workshops and dialogues include topics such as political rights, migration and refugees, environment and sustainability, collective identity, and historical preservation. It allows the club members at these various Loudoun County schools to gain new perspective and understand the fundamentals of other countries.

“It has opened my mind to new perspectives that I would not have gotten if I had only visited their country for a day or two because they give you a real perspective of what their country is like,” said Yeh.

Not only will members be exposed to different countries during the events planned, they will also get to experience it in their own home. Global Ambassador members are set as a host family for one or more international students for the length of the Summit. Through these interactions, the foreign students can get an idea of what life is like in Northern Virginia, and vice versa.

Whether it’s during the Summit or not, Global Ambassadors strive to understand different cultures and exchange ideas that they might not otherwise get.