News
Global Goals 2024
A Shawnigan alum who now works on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC delivered the keynote address as the School hosted the annual Model UN Global Goals Conference, a day of conversation and debate about how to accelerate progress toward the UN’s Sustainable Development goals.
Reid Dagul ’11 (Lonsdale’s), who is now the Chief of Staff to Virginia Congressman Ben Cline, returned to campus to speak to the students. In addition to his current position, Reid has held numerous high-level roles in the US government, including positions in the House of Representatives, the Senate, and as a political appointee in the Trump administration. After his time at Shawnigan, Reid went on to obtain his BA in Political Science from the University of Arizona.
“I came here today, on the eve of what is arguably one of the most consequential elections in my country’s history, to talk with you all, not about politics, or to debate the issues of the day,” he said. “But hopefully to give you some insight on how to achieve your dreams. I was once you. I sat in those very pews, played the same sports, took the same classes, and even had a lot of the same teachers. And when I stood in your shoes, I would wonder to myself, ‘What is my future going to look like, and who am I going to be?’”
All 140 of Shawnigan’s Grade 10 students took part in the conference, alongside approximately 240 students from 11 other schools on the Island, as well as the visiting delegation from Sacré-Coeur in Angers, France. The conference took place on United Nations Day, which commemorates the official creation of the UN on October 24, 1945. The Global Goals Conference is centred around the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development goals, and this year’s event featured sessions discussing nine of them, including a dedicated French language session about combatting climate change.
“Part of the challenge set to each student participant is that they need, in advance, to research and prepare to represent their assigned country’s perspective,” Shawnigan Head of School Mr. Larry Lamont wrote in his welcome to participants. “Students are expected to see through the lens of others and to enter into respectful dialogue towards developing understanding, exploring solutions to complex issues, and learning the strength of compromise – critical skills for you to develop.”
Thank you to the many staff and students who helped organize the Global Goals Conference, in particular the Secretariat made up of senior students in the Model UN program: Secretary-General Sorath R., as well as Jarvis L., Aven T., Iñaki V., Kateryna I., Desi S., Finlay H., Shannon C., Brynn H. and Maya S.
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful West Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
