Student Council
The Student Council are Ambassadors for WLSA. They are representatives from schools from all over the world and meet monthly via virtual hangouts.
The 2020 Student Conference, entirely planned by the Student Council with the support from WLSA, will provide a multi-cultural leadership experience, as well as global learning through the lens of real students. They provide the youth voice for our next conference, and also deliver projects in their schools and communities that reflect WLSA values.
We are proud of our diverse group of young international leaders that together form the WLSA Student Council.
We are now accepting applications for the next WLSA Student Council. In addition to supporting WLSA's Student Conference, being a part of the Student Council:
Stella is 16 years old student who is attending Korea International School Jeju Campus. She is a bit introverted, but she still loves to build relationships with people. Stella loves to learn about science, and she tries her best to complete the work assigned to her. When she heard that 2018 WLSA conference is taking place in her campus, she delightedly signed up for it. She thought that WLSA conference will allow her to be exposed to many unique perspectives and make new international friends. As she have expected, 2018 WLSA conference was one of the best decisions she have ever made. Thus, Stella wanted to take a step forward and take part in WLSA Student Council. She was eager to organize the next year’s WLSA conference with better programs for future WLSA conference participants and get to know more people who have different cultural background than her.
Tanatsei Gambura is poet, actress and cultural activist from Zimbabwe, attending the African Leadership Academy (ALA) in South Africa. A passionate feminist and Pan-Africanist, her work explores the implications of culture, identity, the self and womanhood. Her work has been published by the Open Society Initiative for South Africa, Prufrock Magazine, POVO Afrika and New Coin. She is the founder of The 25 May Movement, a pan-African organisation employing the power of creative arts for social change on the African continent. Tanatsei is also a member on the board of directors of ROOTS, an organisation fighting for the social and economic emancipation of young women in Zimbabwe. In 2015, she was listed as one of “9 Zimbabwean Teens Who Will Shape the Nation” by Kalabash Media, a recognition that reminds her of drive to create change in her community. Tanatsei wishes to inspire those she meets through art and activism, what she believes to be “a brewing revolution, a pair of wings, a place of healing”.
Claudio Liam Govender is a 17 year old student currently studying at Westville Boys High School in South Africa. He loves reading to expand his knowledge, especially when it comes to global and local affairs. Claudio enjoys living in South Africa because of its natural beauty and the diversity found with the people and their varying cultures. Claudio enjoys spending time at the ocean and his favourite hobbies are scuba diving, fishing and even a bit of surfing. Claudio took part in the WLSA Cross Cultural Leadership Programme and is intrigued by people from other countries and one day wishes to travel abroad.
Claudio heard of the WLSA Student council from some of its original members, and how great of an opportunity it was. Claudio joined the council as he believed that it would provide a platform for him to actually reach change when it comes to not only his school, but rather his community. Claudio looks forward to meeting his new team and getting to know them as a family over the next few years.
Anthony Khaiat is a 17-year-old student from Harvard-Westlake School who is passionate about entrepreneurship, international relations, and linguistics. He is the founder of Technology Recycle Revolution Incorporated, a nonprofit which strives to help LAUSD students with technological assistance; additionally, he created an after-school program that teaches kids the French language. Anthony was always interested in speaking to people from outside of the United States, primarily due to his multicultural background, and discovered through Harvard-Westlake that his interest in communicating with international students could be fulfilled via WLSA’s program. He believes that the 2018 WLSA Jeju Conference was one of his greatest experiences and it showed him even more cultures and solutions to global issues. Anthony was interested in joining the WLSA student council not only because of his desire to lead an incredible conference, but he also wants to benefit humanity’s endless pursuit of diversity and peace.
Michelle is a rising junior studying at Appleby College in Oakville, Canada. She is passionate about science, entrepreneurship, and visual arts. She is a leader of the Biomedical Club at her school, and is also a Student Ambassador and Senior 1 Leader. Michelle is outgoing and optimistic, and loves to socialize with people. She has also worked with the Ashoka Change-maker organisation, striving to make a change in adolescent’s wellbeing and spreading awareness upon this topic. Michelle first came in contact with WLSA two years ago when she attended the 2016 student conference in Shanghai. WLSA is an extraordinary organization in the sense that it not only gets students to discuss and think creatively on modern social issues, it also brings students from every corner of the world together. Michelle decided to join the student council because she wanted to be able to bring students together, globally and locally, and strive to make a difference in communities. She is also very excited to work with all other members of the council and work together to create the next conference in 2020!
Jenna is a 17 year old student currently attending Westville Girls’ High School in South Africa. She loves socialising with new people and getting to know who they are as individuals. She is a music enthusiast who is completing her final grade in music at the end of this year and is hoping to start teaching music in the year to come. Jenna is involved in leadership at her school and was part of WLSA’s first ever Cross Cultural Leadership Program which took place from October 2017 to July 2018. She is an optimistic young lady who strives to make sure that those who she surrounds herself with are happy and is a firm believer that a smile can make a person’s day so why frown?
Jenna applied for Student Council because, “WLSA gave me such an amazing opportunity of being able to meet new people from all around the world and I loved learning about other students’ backgrounds, cultures, ways of going about life and to actually be able to call these students my friends, who I now have lifelong memories with, is an awesome thing to be able to say and I want to create that same if not even more incredible opportunity and experience for another student because it can truly be counted as a once in a lifetime experience.”
Nivan Poken is a 17-year-old student from Westville Boys’ High School in Durban, South Africa. He has been involved in many leadership roles in his school and with the Durban Youth Council. He believes that in his modest way, he can uplift his community. His main passions in life are Math and Science but he also loves playing sports such as baseball, cricket and cross country. His main goal in life is to help solve the mysteries of the universe and spread the answers throughout the world so that we can all be astounded by the amazing world in which we live.
Nivan was inspired to join the Student council, after the 2018 conference in South Korea. He felt that his mindset had been completely broadened after the conference and he had been exposed to such a variety of cultures and ideologies, most of which he had not before seen. This experience was so educational and enjoyable to him that he wishes to extend the experience to future generations.
According to Elizabeth Stewart, the WLSA Student Council is unlike anything she has ever done before, and though this may seem a little daunting, Elizabeth is very excited to take part in this incredible opportunity. Elizabeth goes to Geelong Grammar School in Victoria, Australia, and is currently studying for the International Baccalaureate, with her favourite subjects being Literature and History. Before coming to the WLSA Student Conference in 2018 on Jeju Island in South Korea, Elizabeth was part of the Cross-Cultural Leadership Programme (CCLP) offered by WLSA, and also attended the CCLP Capstone, in which she and numerous other students from all over the world learned about the makings of a leader in this day and age. Elizabeth sees the WLSA Student Council as an incredible opportunity to further expand upon this knowledge, and to work with the other members of the council in striving towards making a difference.
Jenny is currently studying the International Baccalaureate at the Cheltenham Ladies’ College in the United Kingdom. She is very much looking forward to joining the WLSA Student Council, after participating in the Cross-Cultural Leadership Programme and WLSA Conference. She particularly enjoys collaborating with students from across the globe and listening to everyone’s unique insights as well as learning each culture’s unique mannerisms. In her free time, Jenny likes drama, tennis, playing the violin and piano as well as volunteering at the Royal Society for the Blind which really emphasises how a small amount of time can make a big difference.
A passionate photographer, journalist, and singer, Caitlin Chung is currently a 11th grader attending Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, California. Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, she moved to the states five years ago. In all her activities, she strives to incorporate elements of her Korean culture not to forget and respect the aspects of her own ethnical background while residing away from her home country.
Caitlin’s interest in joining the WLSA Student Council was sparked by her fascination regarding the organization’s vision statement of “merging the East and West together”. Having personally experienced both Eastern and Western cultures herself, Caitlin believed that taking part in the WLSA Student Council will help extend her knowledge and interest of other cultures, and provide her with an amazing opportunity to interact with students just like herself from all over the world.
Sherry Yang is a rising senior student in WLSA FUDAN ACADEMY in Shanghai. She is good at Chinese Literature and Economics. She joins the Remix Music as one of the ECs. She enjoys singing and creating new songs by herself. Sherry is a good debater as well. She joined NHSDLC for twice and got Octfinals in the competition. As a student in WLSA FUDAN. She first attended the conference in 2016 in Shanghai, Qingpu. The conference held in Jeju this year was the second time she took part in. Sherry is outgoing, helpful, and creative. She would share her opinions with others and she would try her best to offer help no matter who meets any problem. Sherry decided to join the student council because she wants to contribute to her community and bring positive energy to people around her.She is really excited to work as a member of the council and she is looking forward to create the next conference in 2020 with all the other members!
