Bezos Scholars Program helps local student, educator cultivate big ideas

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — While many teenagers spent their summer vacations working, hanging out with friends, or even sleeping in, Kent Smith, a senior at Presque Isle High School, rubbed elbows with such notables as Justice Stephen Breyer and New York Times columnist David Brooks.
Smith and school counselor Mary Ann Warren were among only 12 student-educator teams from public schools nationwide that were selected as Bezos Scholars and invited to attend the June 26-July 2 Aspen Ideas Festival (AIF) at the Aspen Institute in Colorado.
While on the Aspen Institute campus, student and educator scholars attended seven days of seminars, tutorials, lectures and debates. They shared meals and scholars-only roundtable discussions with some of the most provocative thinkers, writers, artists, entrepreneurs and change-makers from around the world. Each day, dedicated leadership trainings helped them understand themselves as leaders and prepared them for the challenge ahead — creating sustainable Local Ideas Festivals that will transform their schools and communities.
“Because of the way they spoke to us with such frankness and honesty, meeting with Justice Breyer and David Brooks were probably my two favorites,” said Smith, 17. “Even though you imagine them as being on this whole other plane, they could talk to us like they were just another person we could have a conversation with rather than a lecture. That was really cool.”
Other well-known presenters included Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Biz Stone and Evan Williams, the founders of Twitter; author Rye Barcott, Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp, IDEO founder Fred Dust, retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and filmmaker Tiffany Shlain.
“It was really incredible attending the festival,” said Smith. “It was a little stressful knowing that only 12 student-educator pairs from across the country were chosen. It made me feel that because it was such an exclusive event, I had to live up to their standards, but it wasn’t too much of a problem. We didn’t have to do too much to prepare because we were going there to learn. We went without any pretense and came back more enlightened.”
Warren said there were several highlights of the trip for her.
“This year for the very first time, they had five students from the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg that joined our students and their leader. That was amazing. I feel that it totally raised the bar for our students to have that international aspect,” she said. “As far as the Ideas Festival itself, having lunch with Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was exciting. Justice Breyer blew me away. He was so energized and excited about what he does. I just loved it.
“I also loved that we were talking to people who were tops in their field, and are really making a difference in the world as we know it,” said Warren. “Because our groups were so small, we got to interact and ask questions. That was very special. I got reenergized by attending the festival. I’ve always had a can-do attitude and the festival affirmed that there is a can-do attitude in our country. Not only does it exist, but it’s alive and well. We learned that you can’t do anything alone and that we’re all connected. I’m so glad that we were able to go.”
Following their time in Aspen, the student/educator scholar teams return home, inspired by their experiences at AIF, to create Local Ideas Festivals in their schools and communities. The scholars are encouraged to create festivals based on their passions and issues of relevance in their school and communities.
“When scholars return home inspired by the Aspen Ideas Festival, they put their learning into action by teaming up to create sustainable Local Ideas Festivals,” said Jackie Bezos, president of the Bezos Family Foundation. “These festivals, in turn, create a ripple effect that is transformative for schools and communities across the U.S. Together with their peers from the African Leadership Academy, the 2011 scholars are poised to expand this life changing experience on a global scale.”
Smith said the biggest thing he learned was the importance of working as — and trusting — a group.
“I learned the importance of delegating your tasks and trusting that other people will be able to complete those tasks,” he said, “and trying to find team members that complement your strengths and weaknesses.”
For their Local Ideas Festival, Smith and Warren have opted to hold a Kinder College, which will be held at a local elementary school in March.
“Kinder College will be open to children in pre-kindergarten through grade 2, and we’re going to have a seminar for the children that allows them to explore different careers and what it takes to get to those careers in an informational and creative way,” said Smith. “We’re hoping to do it in March which will give us time to get everything planned and set up.
“We’re trying to get full community involvement,” he said. “We’re trying to recruit education majors from the University of Maine at Presque Isle and the University of Maine at Fort Kent to help teach the children, and we’re also going to try to recruit the services of our school’s own community service group.”
Smith and Warren met most Mondays in July and August planning the Local Ideas Festival.
“We hit the ground running pretty much right when we got back from Aspen … contacting school officials and others,” said Smith. “Right now we’re working on a grant proposal for the Bezos Family Foundation to get our idea approved and make sure we have all our specifics laid out. That’s what I’m working on right now. I’m excited about it.”
This was the second consecutive year that a student-educator team from PIHS was selected as Bezos Scholars. Paul Elish and English/psychology teacher Jennifer Bourassa attended the program in 2010.