On Feb. 22, the Smart Solutions Summit was held at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. The day long event was sponsored by Testmasters and organized by Students Promoting International Relations Education (SPIRE). An organization of International Baccalaureate students and students from Clements High School, SPIRE was inspired by a similar event held by the Global Studies Academy at Clements. SPIRE leader and co-founder, senior Jinchen Zou reflects on the experience.

“When the idea first popped up, I did not imagine the scope and the amount of effort it takes to plan a project,” Zou said. “Assembling a great team of passionate people and coordinating the planning process with determination were keys to making the event a success. The learning curve to creating a large scale project like the Smart Solutions Summit was a steep one, and at times it seemed impossible for a team of just high school students to accomplish.”

Zou’s determination paid off, however, with the auditorium of the Institute nearly filled. Attendees heard talks from professor Richard J. Stoll of the Baker Institute and keynote speaker and director of the Hashoo Foundation, Cristal Montanez-Baylor. Following the speeches was a panel discussion moderated by SPIRE members, with panelists including a former diplomat and several professors.
SPIRE is now starting to prepare for next year’s summit. Zou hopes the next set of leaders shares her vision.

“We wanted to inspire our peers to care more about the world around them and pursue their own ways of making a difference,” Zou said.

More information can be found at www.strikingly.com/spire.