Olivia Sczuroski '22 Delivers Closing Speech at CAIS Conference

On Sunday, April 7, freshman Olivia Sczuroski delivered the closing speech at the CAIS Student Leadership Diversity Conference. She attended the conference with a group of other Marianapolis students.

The theme of the conference was “Ripples of Change: Building Awareness and Taking Action.” The mission of the conference is to bring people together “for a day of networking and dialogue, facilitating cross-cultural understanding and a call to action to improve our school communities and our world.”

Olivia became interested in the conference after seeing an email from Assistant Head of School David DiCicco and then applied to speak. Her speech was a spoken word piece which was representative of the influence of change in her life.

“It is about the ripples of change we see within each other and the world,” she explained. “Whether it is in the shallowest of seas or the rise of the biggest wave, every ripple changes the nature of the ocean for eternity. Similarly, every action we perform changes something and the life of someone. I discussed the acknowledgment of this responsibility, the opportunity that lies within this power, and what this concept has contributed to in the sense of my identity.”

This was Olivia’s first time speaking at a conference, but she has been a performer all her life so she is no stranger to being in front of an audience.

“It was inspiring and touching to see how many students and faculty members were taking part in the change they wish to see around them,” she said. “I am honored and very appreciative that I was not only given time to share my voice, but also the attention and respect of those listening, who I hope were inspired by my words.”