Lifelong Learners

When Whitney Kelly traveled last summer to Rome, Florence, and Milan, her main goal was to enhance her work in DEI by deepening her understanding of how religion relates to educational institutions. In fact, the lessons she took away are broader. She came away with context and ideas not only about NCS’s teachings on and approach to religion, but also issues of identity and even the dress code.

Kelly was struck by the prevalence of religious spaces and memorabilia and also observed a deep respect for religion even among non-practicing Catholics. She welcomed the opportunity to expand her knowledge of the breadth of Italy’s religious communities, including learning about the history of Judaism in Rome.

Visiting beautiful houses of worship, Kelly appreciated the respect that locals hold for their sacred spaces. She reflected on how our school community shows respect in religious spaces and how those spaces conflict or coincide with one's identity.

Kelly notes that intersectionality is taught at NCS all the time, but it sometimes doesn’t include religion. She plans to expand her knowledge of religion using a lens of DEI and integrate it into the curriculum.

 

An increasing number of NCS students are looking beyond the U.S. for college. Thirty percent of the students in the Class of 2023 submitted at least one application to an international school. Two-thirds of those students (approximately 20 percent of the class) applied to schools in the UK. In recent years, typically 5–10 percent of an NCS class enrolls in an overseas institution.

To better serve these NCS students who submit applications to international colleges and universities, Jordan Peterson was awarded a fellowship to better understand international admissions in the UK and Ireland. Her specific plan was to travel to a conference at Cambridge University over the summer. When that conference was canceled, she pivoted to planning her own trip to the U.K. in February 2024, Peterson plans to visit Dublin through a counselor program sponsored by University College Dublin and travel for a week throughout Scotland visiting University of Glasgow, University of Stirling, and University of Aberdeen with a program sponsored by the Scottish universities. As part of these visits, she will meet with admissions offices, current students, and student-support staff to learn about the admission process and student life on each campus. Her goal is to increase her understanding so NCS’s College Guidance office can offer the best advice and support to students around international application processes while making families feel more at ease with a potentially big international transition for college.