FCS Girl Power at the World Affairs Council Conference

Learn more about Friends’ Central School’s Upper School Clubs.

For Friends’ Central’s all-female World Affairs Council, it’s all about the experience, authenticity, building confidence, and the desire to learn, surrounded by others driven by the same goals and passions.

Created by Gary Nicolai three years ago, the FCS World Affairs Council, an Upper School club consisting of 10 young women who research ways to solve real-world issues, was consciously created as an all-girls’ organization, and it has grown substantially each year – both in number and in dedication. Nicolai explained, “I’ve been to many conferences with students over the years, and I’ve seen many times where the boys have dominated, simply because there were more boys than girls present. We have very capable young women at Friends’ Central, and by participating in organizations like the World Affairs Council, they feel like they have a voice, and they learn so much about the world that they build confidence, both in speaking about real world issues and in themselves.”

This year’s conference, entitled “Prioritizing Global Risks,” took place on April 29 at the Fox School of Business at Temple University. Friends’ Central’s group was divided into two Global Risk Groups – each assigned to address a global risk, either “Increasing Water Stress” or “Infectious Disease Outbreaks.” They researched, found possible solutions to, and, via their group leader, advocated and presented recommendations in front of an independent panel of judges comprised of Philadelphia’s business, civic, and government leaders.

This year’s group leaders, Carolyn Spellacy ’16 (Infectious Disease Outbreaks) and Emma Verges ’17 (Increasing Water Stress), were voted into leadership first by their peers, then, after an interview process, by the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia. Both Spellacy and Verges were thrilled to be chosen as leaders of their Global Risk Groups, and they both understand the responsibility and that come with this leadership. Spellacy explained, “It’s a huge honor to be elected as my group’s leader, and I have learned a lot about how global leaders deal with these world issues. At times, it can get pretty heated, as everyone wants to voice their opinions, so you definitely have to learn to compromise.” Verges acknowledged that with leadership comes a responsibility to ensure that each voice in the group is heard. “You’re responsible for representing all the great ideas your group came up with, and you want to make sure that, when you’re up there, you want your group to say, ‘that’s exactly what we wanted to portray as a group.’

Nicolai said that the students take away so much more than knowledge of world issues after participating in this Council. He shared, “The students participating in the World Affairs Council feel valued and respected, and they learn so much about the world, all while engaging with peers from all over the country and the world. They learn respect for others and for global issues. They also feel like they can do something about these issues because they’ve become educated, and they feel like they have a voice.”

Spellacy believes that her time at Friends’ Central prepared her for the conference of the World Affairs Council. “I think my experience at FCS has made my participation at these conferences even better. At Friends’ Central, we’re taught to explore our own ideas, to form our own thoughts, and bring them to our groups. We wanted to leave this conference knowing we incorporated all the themes Mr. Nic has taught us with our own thoughts and the voices of all in our groups. Learning as much as we can from the experience is so much more important than any other award.”

Though the experience is more important than any award, Friends’ Central took home three prestigious awards at the World Affairs Council Conference on April 29, including Outstanding Delegate for Sydney Cohen ’16, Honorable Mention for Student Leader Emma Verges ’17, and the Water Stress Group was “awarded funding” for presenting the most compelling argument as to why Water Stress, if properly redressed, would have the greatest impact on long-term economic security.

Verges, who also won Best Delegate at the fall conference, explained what the real reward is when students participate in the World Affairs Council. “At the end of the day, you’re not getting an award for how well-spoken you are – even if that is an award the panel gives out,” Verges said. “Your reward is in how well you can successfully formulate a plan that can be put into action to fix these real world problems. We want to make Mr. Nic proud. He taught us, and we understand that it’s not about winning an award - it’s about each of us actively participating in the conference, continuing conversations, and our desire to continue learning beyond the conference. It’s about bringing home these big ideas and incorporating changes at home.”