Nathan M. Clark Peace Speaker

During her day on campus, Rebecca met with more than 300 students in grades five through nine, sharing her passion for dance, her global engagement with at-risk youth through dance, and her commitment to peacekeeping.  In the evening, viewers from around the world joined in for her livestream presentation, including from three of the African nations where Rebecca works. 

"My students had an exceptionally positive response to Rebecca's visit," Ryan Wood '16, WFS peace and justice teacher, said. "They were stunned by the images of joyful kids amidst utter poverty. One student remarked that she could not believe that questions as simple as, 'what do you want to be when you grow up?' were foreign to these kids, who simply could not even envision a future. Rebecca stressed the importance of education as a tool, stating that not everybody has to grow up to tackle these issues, but that every young person should know that they have the capabilities to do so if that is what they want to do."

Lower school teacher Katie Martinenza '99 participated in the evening discussion. "I was lucky to not only get to experience Rebecca's presentation as an audience member, but also as an active participant on stage," Katie said. "It was exciting to take part in a dance activity that was carefully scaffolded to help the participant feel empowered and is similar to what she uses with students in her MindLeaps program. I had a lot of fun!"

We are grateful for the insight and perspective Rebecca shared with our community as well as for her commitment to helping heal children who have experienced trauma. Thank you to the Nathan M. Clark Foundation for making this wonderful day possible!

To view Rebecca’s evening presentation, please click here: https://youtu.be/iBGeb29PonU