Media Coverage

'Global Leaders' student program honors 110 who completed program
GAZETTELEADER NEWSPAPER
May 16, 2023

Members of the 2023 class of the Global Leaders of Fairfax County initiative. (Karen Bolt Photography)

The third year of the Global Leaders of Fairfax County program concluded with a ceremony May 21 at Oakton High School recognizing 110 Fairfax County high school seniors for successfully completing the program.

The initiative, founded in 2020, aims to prepare “fellows” in the initiative to be global citizens and change agents in their local community and the world.

Throughout their senior year of high school, fellows have opportunities to engage with leaders from various fields and undertake trips to civic institutions to advance their understanding of international affairs and global issues.

Participants from the GazetteLeader coverage area’s high schools include:

• Shanthi Ashok, Oakton; Mina Aydin, Thomas Jefferson; Achraf Azzaoui, Thomas Jefferson; Arina Banks, George C. Marshall; Tarini Basireddy, Thomas Jefferson; Max Blacksten, McLean; Jenna Cai, Langley; Alison Chavez, Thomas Jefferson; Nicole Chin, Oakton; Catherine Choi, Oakton.
• Nicole Chowdhury, McLean; Angela Guo, Oakton; Ryan Halloran, James Madison; Lydia Hu, McLean; Zahraa Hussain, Oakton; Joanne Jung, Oakton; Cate Kanapathy, McLean; Agnese Lasmane, Oakton; Amber Li, Oakton; Eileen Lincoln, Oakton. Katie Mahieu, Oakton; Anshra Malik, Langley; Vihaan Mathur, Thomas Jefferson.
• Maaz Nadeem, Oakton; Simar Narula, Thomas Jefferson; Jennifer Otieno, Oakton; Nikki Pillai, McLean; Michelle Qiu, Oakton; Nora Refai, Oakton; Angela Sidhu, Thomas Jefferson; Jawand Singh, Thomas Jefferson; Elliot Smith-Chauss, McLean.
• Anisha Talreja, Thomas Jefferson; Amy Thiam, Oakton; Suraj Vaddi, Thomas Jefferson; Christal Wang, Thomas Jefferson; Hannah Yeom, James Madison; and Odessa Zhang, McLean.

​Reflecting on what the graduates had learned in the program, managing director Ryan McElveen told them that “I hope you feel that this program has helped prepare you to take on the challenges we face as a global community, because ultimately, it will be up to you to employ that advocacy to fix the mistakes of those of us who came before you.”
Also addressing the students were Fairfax Superintendent Michelle Reid and keynote speaker Marine Gen. (retired) John Allen.

McElveen also announced that, beginning this fall, the Global Leaders of Fairfax County program will expand through a partnership with the Fairfax County Public Schools’ global-classroom project and the Brookings Institution’s 17 Rooms program. The program’s next cohort of fellows will undertake a year-long project focused on applying each of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals to the Fairfax County community. This initiative will be the first of its kind involving K-12 students.

For more information about Global Leaders of Fairfax County, see the Website at www.fairfaxleaders.com.

Latest Crop of ‘Global Leaders’ Is Celebrated
SUN GAZETTE NEWSPAPERS
May 27, 2022

Members of the 2022 crop of Global Leaders of Fairfax County graduates were celebrated during a May 22 ceremony at George C. Marshall High School. (Karen Bolt Photography)

The second year of the Global Leaders of Fairfax County program concluded with a ceremony held on May 22 at George C. Marshall High School that recognized 91 Fairfax County high-school seniors for successfully completing the program.

In opening remarks, managing director Ryan McElveen acknowledged the hardships the program graduates have faced “during a challenging time for our community and the world – if there was ever a time for the next generation to step up and speak out, it is now.”

U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8th) and Fairfax Superintendent Scott Brabrand provided keynote remarks to the assembled students and supporters.

“Leadership is the art and science of getting things done through other people,” said Beyer, who acknowledged that he had “spent much of my life trying” trying to discern how to be a good leader. Quoting historian James MacGregor Burns, Beyer said that “leadership is vision and agenda. You have to know where you are going, or you can’t lead people there – and you have to have an agenda to make sure that vision comes true.”

Brabrand, who will depart next month after leading Fairfax County Public Schools for five years, told the graduates that “by participating in this program, you have had access to what most people don’t have access to until college.”

Recalling his start in the education field 30 years ago, he said that “My secret in life has been to find something you love, and then stay in love. If you find something you like, but you don’t love it, it’s OK to change. I thought I wanted to be an international businessman, but I realized that I didn’t have to travel around the world to be a businessman. The world is right here in our back yard.”

Reflecting on the current climate in public service, Dr. Brabrand expressed that “As global leaders, we cannot stand silent and let others throw stones. We have people throwing stones across the world, across our country and even locally. We can all agree to disagree sometimes and have differences of opinion. But destroying individuals or destroying institutions is not how we’re going to keep a strong democracy.”

Global Leaders of Fairfax County, founded in 2020 by former Fairfax County School Board member McElveen, aims to prepare fellows to be global citizens and change agents in their local community and the world.

Fellows undergo a rigorous application process for admission, and throughout their senior year of high school they have opportunities to engage with leaders from various fields and undertake field trips to civic institutions to advance their understanding of international affairs and global issues.

Students from the Sun Gazette coverage area who completed the program include:

• Hala Alizzi, George C. Marshall High School; Amara Brown, Oakton High School; Ivy Chen, Langley High School; Emily Choi, Oakton High School; Isabella DeMarco, McLean High School; Jack Deutsch, McLean High School; Myla Gao, Oakton High School; Aleena Gul, McLean High School; Sahil Gupta, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology; Lucy Kim, Oakton High School.
• Abba Kodiaga, Oakton High School; Rosa Kwon, McLean High School; Seoyoon Lee, McLean High School; Elliot Lee, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology; Erika Li, Langley High School; Phoebe Li, McLean ​High School; Karin Liu, Oakton High School; Cynthia Ma, McLean High School; Songhan Pang, McLean High School; Pravalika Putalapattu, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology.
• Jayant Siva, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology; Lillian Sun, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology; Aryan Tiwari, McLean High School; Vinitha Vennapusa, Oakton High School; Lara Waldron, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology; Morgan Wu, McLean High School; Jason Yi, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology; Emily Yu, Oakton High School.

​For additional information about Global Leaders of Fairfax County initiative, see the Website at www.fairfaxleaders.com.

Global Leaders of Jefferson
tjTODAY | Laura Zhang, Staff writer
December 17, 2021

For many Jefferson students, the name Ryan McElveen brings to mind exciting memories of snow day announcements. However, along with posting about school cancellations during his time on the Fairfax County School Board, McElveen is also responsible for creating the Global Leaders of Fairfax County program. He founded the initiative in 2020 to help high school seniors become involved in international issues and encourage them to cause positive change.

“The ultimate goal is to make students global citizens and active participants in both their community and the nation and world,” McElveen said.

Through the Global Leaders program, fellows hear from guest speakers in a variety of fields. This unique opportunity to interact with prominent leaders caused many students to develop an interest in the program.

“One of the main reasons I applied was because I knew that there would be a lot of speakers covering international relations and public policy, which are areas that I haven’t really been exposed to at TJ,” senior and current fellow Lillian Sun said.

In addition to learning more about foreign affairs, Sun looks forward to forming relationships with other students.

“I hope to immerse myself in international relations and see how policy affects the solutions to global issues,” Sun said. “I’m also really excited to become closer with other TJ students in the program and to meet seniors from all around Fairfax County.”

McElveen’s inspiration for creating the Global Leaders Program stems from his own experience as a high school student in FCPS. He became interested in global affairs during his senior year but noticed that there was no real-world enrichment to build upon what he learned in class.

“There’s always been a gap in Fairfax County with preparing students to take on issues with an international perspective,” McElveen said. “I saw that as kind of disappointing because we live near Washington DC, where there are so many international and governmental institutions that we could be taking advantage of.”

McElveen’s passion for international affairs drove him to fight for foreign language expansion while on the school board. Although his efforts were successful, he still believes that more can be done, especially with regard to engagement outside of school.

“While I was on the school board, I created a task force on internationalization. We were able to make some progress with world languages, but probably not enough,” McElveen said. “The area that we really haven’t made any progress in is the extracurricular component, which involves bringing students out in the real world and meeting with influential individuals.”

Jefferson alumni and 2020-2021 fellow Harini Somanchi shares McElveen’s belief that it is especially essential for high school students to be introduced to foreign affairs.

“A lot of the time, when we’re in high school, we think the world is really small and revolves around our grades, our clubs, and the people around us,” Somanchi said. “It’s really important to gain a global mindset and realize that there are issues so much bigger than us.”

McElveen plans on exposing students to real-life examples of international relations through field trips to local government and nonprofit institutions. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions and the diverse backgrounds of the fellows, these excursions may face some constraints. 

“There are about 85 members in the program from schools around the county, so it’s hard to gather all of them in-person to hear from a speaker or do activities,” McElveen said. “There are also a lot of socioeconomic barriers, such as having access to a car or being able to get a rideshare.”
Despite these potential obstacles, McElveen remains optimistic about this year’s program and is excited to connect with the fellows.
​
“My favorite part about the Global Leaders program is learning from the students because of how passionate and impactful they are. It’s one of the things that makes FCPS such a special place: the students and ideas that they bring,” McElveen said.

Fairfax students complete global-leaders curriculum
SUN GAZETTE NEWSPAPERS
Jun 1, 2021

Eighty-six Fairfax County high-school seniors celebrate completion of the Global Leaders of Fairfax County program during a May 23, 2021, closing ceremony at Mason District Park Amphitheater. (Karen Bolt Photography)

Eighty-six Fairfax County high-school seniors, who recently completed the Global Leaders of Fairfax County program, were honored by county officials at a May 23 closing ceremony at the Mason District Park Amphitheater.

Founded in 2020 by former at-large Fairfax County School Board member Ryan McElveen, the program is the first of its kind in the region. The program seeks to prepare participants to be global citizens and change agents in their local community and the world.

McElveen, the program’s managing director, said he founded the Global Leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic “to fill a void of global studies in the K-12 curriculum.”

“It is a void I have been working to fill since I was your age – when this current cicada brood first burrowed into the ground,” he said. “There was, and still remains, a need to internationalize our curriculum at all levels.”

Program fellow undergo a rigorous admissions process, then throughout their senior year of high school engage with leaders from various fields to advance their understanding of international affairs and global issues.

Officials gave six students who completed the program special recognition for their contributions in the initiative’s inaugural year:
​

• Julia Bodet of McLean High School, who will attend Columbia University-Sciences Po.
• Eugene Cho of George C. Marshall High School, who will attend Duke University.
• Warisha Hussein of South County High School, who will attend Northwestern University.
• Alina Saiyid of Westfield High School, who will attend the University of Pittsburgh.
• Maggie Tong of Oakton High School, who will attend Northeastern University.
• Dao Tran of Westfield High School, who will attend the University of Virginia. Officials also presented her with the inaugural Global Leader Award for designing the program’s logo and documenting the program’s meetings and activities for social media.

Other students from the Sun Gazette’s readership area who completed the program included:

• McLean High School students Michelle Cheng, Samir Chowdhury, Sabrina Kianni, Sojung (Emma) Lee, Dua Mobin, Yeeun (Jennie) Moon, Brittany Peng and Sophia Powell.
  
• George C. Marshall High School students Sonel Cutler, Alec Manousos and Zamir Ticknor.
  
• Langley High School students Joshua DeFilipps, Casey LaTeef and Eliana Schoenberg.
  
• Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology students Jenalyn Dizon, Joseph Dodson, Tiffany Ji, Justin Paul, Harini Somanchi, Karen Song, Sarah Wang and Sophie Wang.
  
• Oakton High School students Aijia Han, Anika Kumar, Pritika Modhukuru, Mitra Nayeri, Melanie Palmer, Sung-Hyun (Diana) Park and Kevina Wang.
  
• James Madison High School student Gwen Setia.