In case the city-wide traffic and protests left anyone in doubt, the end of September welcomed the United Nations General Assembly, and celebrated the 80-year anniversary of the UN itself. As world leaders gathered and over 150 heads of governments and states addressed climate change, AI governance, public health, and gender equality, Clinton students got a special opportunity in the form of two keynote speakers: Pracchi Shevgaonkar and Ziyaan Virji.
According to Clinton global politics teacher Ms. Dikes, Prachi and Ziyaan reached out to schools offering to speak. When Ms. Stackhouse forwarded the email, Ms. Dikes saw it as “a unique opportunity to inspire global politics students”. She thought it would be especially helpful to seniors currently working on their Global Politics internal assessments. Analyzing and dealing with barriers preventing broader impact and utilizing collective force are concepts she hoped seniors would recognize within speeches. She also saw it as an opportunity for juniors to begin thinking about their engagement project and CAS plans.
First to take the Clinton stage was Ziyaan Virji, whose journey to global change-maker started from rock bottom. After being sent to boarding school for poor academics, Ziyaan spent a rough year away from home, got suspended for self-plagiarism, and was scared to face his parents. Then, on the last day of school, he contracted Dengue fever. However, what Ziyaan saw as the last straw would become a blessing in disguise.
After getting discharged from the hospital on July 1st, 2017, Ziyaan went to sleep and woke up relieved, happy that he didn’t actually sing at mosques, get drunk and high, and do other crazy things in real life that he had dreamt. But what struck him as he opened his calendar to July 22nd was that his dreams were reality, and he had no memory of the last three weeks. Disoriented but awakened, Ziyaan came to the epiphany that he was taking his life for granted and wasting it.
From that point on, he promised himself to lead his life with purpose. Starting from the 10th-grade MYP project – stitching menstrual products for women in need – Ziyaan went on to bring about global change, helping women access resources and inspiring youth to join the cause. Now a TEDx United Nations speaker, Princess Diana award winner, and appointed teen leader, Ziyaan urged Clinton students to seize every opportunity to follow their dreams.
Arriving a little later – having blown off the President of Chile to speak at Clinton – Prachi Shevgaonkar shared a story just as powerful. Following graduation, Prachi was about to enter college for the family profession – engineering – while feeling that she was going down the wrong path. At a pivotal moment, she received a letter written by her younger self 10 years earlier. Within the words, she found clarity.
Moved by her younger selves’ aspirations to bring change, Prachi made a presentation to get her parents on board with a different path. After its success, Prachi enrolled in media school – an institution for students interested in public relations, broadcasting, and digital media – while simultaneously reaching out to her role models. Before she knew it, Prachi was spending her gap year shadowing her role models, including Dnyaneshwar Bodke (founder of Abhinav Farmers Club) and Nalini Shekar (founder of Hasiri Dara, an organization that turns waste-pickers into entrepreneurs). Moved by everything she saw working with waste-pickers and farmers, Prachi wanted to lessen the daily toll of climate change through the development of an app: Cool the Globe.
Now the founder and CEO of an app that shows the impacts of individual efforts in mitigating climate change, Prachi is a a UNICEF climate advocate, a fellow at the Lead, Next Generation India Program by the UN Foundation, a winner of Shark Tank India, and a Forbes 30 under 30 listee for social impact. She continues to fight against climate change and rally millions for her cause. Her message to Clinton students is to never consider your role models out of reach, and to know that the only limits are the ones you set for yourself.
Students who attended to hear the stories of both Prachi and Ziyaan left having learned something new. Whether it was inspiration, a desire to bring change, or simply a letter to their future self, students were meaningfully impacted. Just as Ms. Dikes presented, the event was more than a presentation. It was a spark. 
