International school communities are strengthened by their diversity.

At WAB, we learn about and celebrate the different identities among our school community in many ways, including through the curriculum, in cultural festivals, and through social action across all student, staff, and parent groups.

"WAB wants our students to be caring members of our local and global community," said School Psychologist Dr. Christin Topper. "We want to nurture students who are ethical and principled, and we want to give them a platform and a voice that support their interests and passions."

On this week's episode of The WAB Podcast, three WAB students join Christin and host Chris Clark to discuss the roles they have taken on to promote inclusion in school and what inspired them to make a change. Tune into the episode using the player above or search The WAB Podcast on your preferred platform.

Grade 11 student Gabriel is the founder and leader of the LatinX club, which is aimed at sharing Latin culture with his classmates and teachers. As Gabriel's home country of Brazil is so far from Beijing, he saw an opportunity to introduce and share the cultures, foods, arts, and lifestyles of Latin America countries with his classmates. Most recently, the group hosted a booth at WAB's Rock in the Park festival.

"By bringing a little culture of different countries in Latin America, we can start breaking stereotypes," Gabriel said. "It’s important that we keep growing as people and keep gaining knowledge, especially because we are at an international school. And WAB is always incentivizing exactly that: growing and knowing more about the world."

In the Middle School, Grade 8 students Tessa and Izzy are members of the Middle School Allies club, which sets out to create a welcoming and inclusive environment in the Middle School so that students feel safe and comfortable to be who they are. One activity the group hosted recently was to write positive affirmations on lollipops and invite their classmates to purchase them for one another. Izzy also spoke at WAB's TEDxYouth event about the dangers of gender stereotypes.

"I know people who are marginalized and have dealt with discrimination for who they are, and I don’t want my friends to feel bad for being who they are," Izzy said. "I joined this club to educate people about these problems and make them aware that they’re prevalent in society. The first step to stopping that is to educate people, and we can also have that be a fun time for people."

To hear the full interviews with our guests, tune into The WAB Podcast here or on your preferred podcast platform.