Fifty students and advisors from high schools in Cambria, Somerset and Blair Counties will discuss cultural and economic diversity. Topics will include race, religion, sexual orientation and even poverty.
The students are all 9th-11th graders from nine high schools in the region, including Tyrone, Windber, Greater Johnstown and Bishop McCort.
Alan Cashaw is the president of the Johnstown branch of the NAACP, which organizes the summit along with Saint Francis University. He said schools and classrooms are already integrated, but clubs and social groups should also be diverse. He said what these kids learn at the summit will help them later in life.
“You’ll be solid in who you are. Your own personal self-esteem will be stronger because you stepped out of your own comfort zone, learned about somebody else, learned about something else. And you involved that in your life. And that stays with you forever,” said Cashaw, Johnstown NAACP President.
Event organizers hope students will take what they learn at the summit and bring it back into their schools, whether it’s in the cafeteria or outside the classroom.