“School systems often make decisions for you and not necessarily with youth voices present at the table,” says Olivia Keithley, from experience. ​

Olivia and her schoolmate Trés McMichael joined the Baltimore City Student Council to change that. They were both student council presidents, Olivia from 2009 to 2012, and Trés in 2014 and 2015. Then, they were invited back in August 2020, to develop and implement a program on equity, diversity and inclusion.​

“It felt like going back to high school for homecoming,” says Trés, jokingly. Knowing the ins-and-outs of student leadership—and discovering that some of the guiding documents they created in high school were still being used—Olivia and Trés set out to push the conversation further. ​

“The systemic issues that existed when we were students are still here and are really hard to move,” Trés says. They had a distinct goal in mind: create something that surpassed education to taking action. ​

The friends created four sessions that covered diversity training, role playing and lesson planning, turning student awareness of issues into action by practicing meaningful conversations they can take back to their peers, teachers and principals. ​

Students examined Baltimore City Student Council policy guiding documents, representation within the council, and identified needed changes. Olivia and Trés guided the students with questions like, “Who is being prepared for leadership positions? How are other students able to access this information? What are the awards your district is giving out? How are these rooted in bias and privilege?” ​

The program’s success attracted interest from WE in December, 2020. Olivia and Trés informed the development of the WE Embrace Anti-Racism service-learning campaign, and Trés participated in a WE virtual learning event.​

“Student leadership was so important to the fabric of who we became today,” Trés says. Olivia is the program director at Maryland Leadership Workshops and Trés is pursuing a graduate degree in Arts Leadership.​

As they delve further into their individual careers, their passion for leadership keeps them connected. The two friends expect to continue being an influence on future programming at the Baltimore City School Council.​