During last week’s Expedition, an early moment affirmed our core value of pluralism.

The students had just emerged from breakout rooms with 2-3 peers, during which they had discussed social impact problems that interested them.

Now in the full group setting, they shared what that conversation had been like. Most talked about the possibilities of working on a certain problem.

But one student, Stevie, shared something very different.

“Maybe this isn’t what we’re supposed to be talking about right now, but I have to say that it was really impactful to spend time talking with two other Black students,” Stevie said. “At my school, we have 115 people in my class but only 4 of us are Black. I almost never have the opportunity to learn with people who look like me.”

Stevie and his team—three Black students and one Latino student—went on to develop a prototype to serve the 120,000 people unjustly imprisoned in the United States for crimes they did not commit. [1] I have no doubt that Stevie and his teammates performed at a high level in part because they felt authentic belonging.

Expeditionaries is a diverse-by-design community. That includes everyone: students, facilitators, and the CEO panel. [2] When people experience belonging, they bring their full selves—especially their strengths—to contribute to a purpose bigger than themselves.

And contributing your strengths, with a team, on behalf of a purpose bigger than you is an essential context for growth. [3]

If your community is not diverse-by-design, what steps are you taking to ensure that everyone experiences genuine belonging?

The growth of every member of your community is at stake.

***

[1] You can watch their pitch to the CEO panel as well as the panelists’ feedback, including praise from an attorney who formerly worked for the NJ Department of Corrections.

[2] Three of our four facilitators were people of color, and two of the three CEO panelists were people of color.

[3] There is still space in our Expedition taking place over MLK Jr. Day Weekend, Jan 15-18. Details below.

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