GenDream Going Global: The Spring 2022 Cohort Launch
April 2, 8:30pm EST.
A trickle of Coaches, Peer Coaches, and Community Leaders enter the virtual meeting, slowly filling up the entire computer screen with energetic music in the background. Though many of them are thousands of miles apart, they all share the same look of excitement. The Spring 2022 class has arrived.
With 33 Community Leaders who represent over 20 cities and 5 countries, the Spring 2022 class has expanded beyond the US-China borders. GenDream has gone more global this year--welcoming Community Leaders from Singapore, Canada, and Pakistan for the first time. Among the Peer Coaches were three-time returnees from the US, China, and Canada, spanning from sophomores in high school to freshmen in college. The program hopes such diversity can cultivate cultural empathy and global mindset for the young Community Leaders.
The session opened with a word of welcome and an introduction of GenDream presented by Co-Executive Directors Jing Wang and Hannah Shen. One of the most inspiring portions of the introduction elaborated on the choice to call program participants "Community Leaders", as opposed to "participants" or "students": Students learn and community leaders act. GenDream aims to help develop the skills Community Leaders need in order to become global citizens who can tackle community problems.
The meeting then transitioned to a community icebreaker - a beloved GenDream tradition. Community Leaders, Peer Coaches, and Coaches were invited into a "speed dating" style breakout rooms for more personal interactions. The first icebreaker of the Spring 2022 session was a popular game called "Two Truths and a Lie". This icebreaking activity created an opportunity for everyone to learn interesting facts about each other in a more casual setting. From learning about each other's favorite ice cream flavors (strawberry was the most popular), adventures in different countries (like Africa!), and shared hobbies such as coding and playing musical instruments.
The last 20 minutes of the meeting took place in four breakout rooms, each focused on a different social issue track: Ethics & Technology, Public Health, Education Access, and Multicultural Understanding. The public health track shared common concerns over the stigma surrounding mental health that prevents youth from seeking help. Spring Suo, a Community Leader in Changchun, China, said that "mental health is just as important as physical health. Someone may be very physically healthy, but if they are struggling mentally, that can cause worse consequences than being physically sick." Amaris Xie and Erik Deng both resonated with Spring's sharing in their own schools in Hangzhou and Singapore. For Amaris, she noticed how students struggling with mental health were more vulnerable to the effects of peer pressure. She shared that "there are many instances in which students at [her] school partake in behaviors like substance abuse due to the pressure brought about by their friends." Erik Deng attends Raffles, one of the most prestigious schools in Singapore, and with that prestige comes an immense amount of pressure. "Many of [his] friends are currently suffering from the academic pressure at [his] school". Despite the geographical distances and cultural differences, everyone was able to recount instances in their community involving youth mental health being at risk. This insightful conversation in the Public Health track is just one example of the many that happens across the GenDream Community.
GenDream would not have been as successful without the dedication and the hard work of the coaching team. In the weeks leading up to the Spring 2022 kickoff, the team collaborated and worked tirelessly across multiple time zones on curriculum design, marketing, and other behind-the-scenes work to ensure the success of the Spring 2022 session. Ada Yu, a three-time Peer Coach reflects, "While the actual program is undoubtedly exciting, I really love the preparation period. Working with the passionate coaching team has given me the opportunity to learn other valuable skills, such as social media marketing. As a Peer Coach, I am grateful for the opportunity to be an active member on both sides of the program."
While the Covid-19 crisis has prevented these young leaders from traveling, GenDream is connecting them through this community. The first GenDream Spring 2022 Session meeting concluded with a sense of inspiration and determination that will last for the rest of the program and beyond.
ABOUT GENDREAM
GenDream is a non-profit initiative with the mission to foster cross-border friendship and leadership among global young leaders. The program selects teens from 9-12th grade as Community Leaders from Asia and North America for a 12-week social entrepreneurship program where they form cross-border project teams to tackle common social issues.
GenDream offers the program free of charge to make global study accessible for everyone. It is made possible by the coaching team's volunteer work. The team collectively devotes hundreds of hours to launching each new cohort. Our founding team's academic and professional backgrounds include Harvard, Stanford, Stripe, Google, and Alibaba. You can support GenDream's mission through donations.