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Young Global Leaders
Need a dose of hope? Listen to these conversations with inspiring young people from around the world.
If you want to hear what forging common ground looks like in practice, look no further.
I met these youngsters during the 2024-25 academic year, when I was Dean of Baret Scholars, a global gap year program with around 100 students from 40+ countries. We traveled together to seven global regions over the course of 8 1/2 months, during which they formed a tight-knit, loving community, grounded in the certainty that we collectively create a better future for all. They've generously agreed to let me interview them, so that their wisdom, optimism, and brilliance can shine forth for everyone's benefit.
You'll hear terms like "morning program," "afternoon options," "fellows," "fellowships," etc. These refer to different design elements of the program. The details don't matter; you'll be able to get the basic meaning from context.
Enjoy!
Episodes
17 episodes
Christiaan Burger
Christiaan Burger reflects on his global journey that didn’t go according to plan — and turned out better for it. From South Africa to Japan to a small liberal arts college in the U.S., Christiaan traces how each new context reshap...
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Kazim Tug
What a joy speaking with Kazim! Here are a few of the themes from our conversation:Identity & Belonging: Navigating a "binary" Northern Irish upbringing as a mixed-race Muslim, and finding a sense of home within international ...
Juliana Bakhtsizina
In this episode, Juliana Bakhtsizina and I cover a number of fun and interesting topics, including the "unlearning" required to become a global citizen. Juliana shares her transition from a rigid, plan-oriented academic mindset to one th...
Zeynep Özcan
Zeynep Özcan reflects on resilience, cross-cultural friendship, and what it means to grow while navigating the world at 18.A few lines from our conversation:“It’s inevitable that there will be miscommunications—but the person in f...
Maisie Frost
Come hear Maisie's reflections on her two (!) gap years, leading with integrity and persistence, and bridging across yawning gaps in belief systems.Keep up with Maisie on Substack and
Malena Sturm
Malena shares about the joys and challenges of relating across differences, what it means to lead in different cultures, and her passion project: Étoile magazine. Treat yourself to another inspiring conversation with a young global ...
Mia Cheng
Mia shares about becoming more independent, some thrilling if dicey travel adventures, and her inspiring capstone project around death rituals. I hope you enjoy this fun and high-energy conversation.Follow Mia on Instagram @cheng.yifou, ...
Jonas Cará
Jonas shares with us about his passion for STEM, his endless curiosity, and his commitment to making learning opportunities available for those (even) younger than him. We can all draw lessons from his persistence, how he learns quickly from hi...
Iris Vavilov
What does it mean to "step on the ego," and what does this have to do with relating across cultures? Come hear from Iris about this, and enjoy her other mind-expanding reflections. Plus, learn about the impactful NGO she founded and led while t...
Aïcha Amar
Aïcha shares with us about her transition to college far from home, an impactful learning experience she created, and her drive to make a better world.Follow Aïcha on Instagram @aicha_nne, and on
Bohdan Mashurovskyi
Listen to Bohdan share about the hard but rewarding work of building cross-cultural bridges, and the challenges of living far from family in Ukraine as he pursues his college education in the UK.
Rafael Affonseca Homem de Melo
Come hear about Rafa's exciting business to end doom-scrolling and reward curiosity, as well as his thoughts and reflections on gratitude, not taking things for granted, and other topics.Follow Rafa on Insta @rafaelhomemdemelo, and follo...
Kynaat Beg
I hope you enjoy my conversation with Kynaat! Follow her on Instagram: @kyntatas (public) and @kynaatbeg (personal).
Ellie Odero
I hope you enjoy my conversation with Ellie Odero, who joins us from Nairobi, Kenya.