SUMMER 2014     

27  

STAY TUNED: GLOBAL STUDIES 

SYMPOSIUM TO FOCUS ON WOMEN’S 

ISSUES

This coming fall, as part of Laguna’s Global Studies
Program, students will have the chance to take a 
deeper look at the challenges and successes of
women living around the world. Faculty Coordinator 
Bojana Hill has been working to develop this inspiring 
program.

“Anything I can do to help the students and the 

larger community expand the 
knowledge and awareness of 
the world outside of our own, I
will do,” Bojana says. The plight 
of ‘other’ women is our plight 
too, and if we can relieve the 
suffering of any human being, we 
ought to take that responsibility.” 
 

Bojana says she hopes 

to welcome guest speakers who will share their 
experiences of empowering women—both in the
U.S. and globally. The goal is to create an inspiring, 
engaging, and interactive event for Laguna’s students 
and teachers, that will serve as a springboard for 
Laguna’s future comprehensive global studies 
program.

In support of Laguna’s continued movement 

toward instilling a global outlook in its students, the 
Mosher Foundation recently provided the school with 
a grant for faculty members to travel to a number of 
schools around the country to observe their global 
studies programs and determine which elements could 
further benefit Laguna’s global studies curriculum. 

The faculty team, including Charles Donelan, Martha 
Elliott, Tyler Hodges, and Staci Richard, visited 
Providence Day School (North Carolina), Sidwell 
Friends (Maryland), Hawken (Ohio), Hun School (New 
Jersey), and Hathaway Brown (Ohio). 

“By sending faculty to schools that are on the

forefront of this movement, we are learning from 
the best and also benefiting from their collective 
wisdom,” says Tyler Hodges, head of the upper 
school. “During our visits, we discussed concepts 
like developing a mission statement and budget, 
establishing curriculum requirements, frequency of 
speaker visits and programming, and student travel 
opportunities.”

In line with the proposed theme, alumnae 

Elizabeth Baker ’02 and Daria Etezadi ’13 
joined our Upper School students this spring for 
a presentation entitled, The F-Word: Feminism 
in 2014. Liz, a graduate of Scripps College, has 
extensive experience in international development, 

including an appointment with U.S. Department of 
Defense, Civilian Expeditionary Workforce in Kabul, 
Afghanistan. She currently works at Direct Relief 
in Santa Barbara. Liz also serves on the board of 
directors of the Ayenda Foundation in Washington, 
D.C. Daria just completed her first year at Georgetown 
University and a summer internship at a political 
organization in California, and was recently awarded 
a student fellowship working with the U.S. Afghan 
Women’s Council next fall.

Stay tuned for more details about Global Studies 
Symposium.

“The plight of ‘other’ women is our plight too, 

and if we can relieve the suffering of any human 

being, we ought to take that responsibility.”

- BOJANA HILL, Laguna Blanca English instructor

130344_LB_summer 2014_EM.indd 27

9/5/14 5:20 PM