Upper Schoolers Take Part in Youth Purpose Summit

It was an uncommon site, for an uncommon event, which could not have been more intentional and impactful. On Wednesday, the Upper School students and colleagues filled the Lower Gym at 375 Pearl Street for the inaugural Youth Purpose Summit—which is a partnership between BFS and the World Leadership School.

The Youth Purpose Summit creates a space for students to explore their natural gifts, share stories, listen deeply, reflect, and ultimately set action goals as they build a “Purpose Map.” The full-day program—which included each Upper School grade, seated by advisory—was brought to BFS by Head of Upper School, Liz Fernández, who looked on proudly throughout the fully interactive sessions and presentations.

“I have been excited to give students and adults an opportunity to sit together as an Upper School community,” Liz said. “For me, understanding purpose and the difference between purpose and passion, and intention—which is very important to me—really is a building block for leadership and leadership development for these students over the next few years.”

The session was facilitated by Jessica Catoggio, the Director of Professional Learning at the World Leadership School. One of the most important aspects of understanding Purpose is for each student to have their own “Golden Thread.”

“A ‘Golden Thread’ is that uniquity that is always present for you and it is something that is always there. You might not always know it, but when you are doing that ‘thing’ you feel your best,” Jessica said. “For me it is rare to work with an entire learning community. To watch developmentally how each grade is approaching today and how they are interacting with each other is really powerful. What was really palpable to me, as well, were the Quaker values and how often that has come up today. That was really unique and present.”

In addition to a robust schedule of activities, two Upper School colleagues—Sharesa Thomas and Mark Malacapay—addressed students by offering their own insight and inspiration.

Students worked thoughtfully throughout the day, sharing their vulnerabilities, as well as their passions.

“I came in knowing that my passion was performing, but today we differentiated passion and purpose, which was really interesting,” said Penny H. ‘28. “As a purpose, I would think more about the audience, so I can be a part of the world on stage, and bring others into that.”

Theo L. ‘26, who has been very open about many of his passions throughout the past years, including television production, podcasts, and DJing, felt the day was very informative.

“It’s allowed me to tap into myself and understand myself a little bit more, but also understand the inner workings of other people, as well, which has been very meaningful,” he said.

Milo S. ‘26, agreed. “To have a strong community, you need to understand each of the individuals, that is a really key component. That’s what makes it so special here at BFS and it was good to have the opportunity to do that today.”

For Liz, the entire day served as the start of a roadmap for our Upper School community.

“We really want our Upper School students to understand their role, and what that role means within the Upper School. For them to start with the building blocks of what it means to be a leader from Brooklyn Friends School and into the future.”