Creating future leaders
Dr Scott Firsing from Boksburg, the new dynamic young director of the North American International School (NAIS), is ecstatic about the opportunity he now has to help mould future global leaders at a much earlier age then what he is used to.
NAIS is an American curriculum school based in Pretoria.
“I recently served as the head of the International Studies Department at Monash University, a top 100 global higher education institution.
“What becomes abundantly clear after teaching for a few weeks in any given semester are the students who come from a school like NAIS allows and supports children to grow intellectuality, physically, socially, and emotionally,” Dr Firsing said.
“It is these factors that builds self confidence, which is one the first big steps in creating a leader,” he added.
When asking Scott how he plans to create these future world leaders, he responded: “We have already begun implementing some unique changes that will transform our students.
“This includes a new NAIS Global Citizen Diploma (GCD) that through a student’s school mentor, their family support structure and the student’s digital portfolio, acknowledges the other types of learning that takes place at NAIS and the surrounding community.
“This can be building schools in rural areas, speaking multiple languages, playing a musical instrument or being published in a newspaper or magazine.
“The GCD complements our already strong core American curriculum with qualities and skills we know are necessary to not only gain entrance into the better universities by sticking out above the rest, but also to flourish once a student completes their higher education studies.
“Other changes at NAIS include new specialised electives such as engineering, international relations, and Mandarin, along with improved technology,” Scott says.
“Leadership features strongly in the new NAIS vision statement adopted by the School Board in May of this year.
“We want our students to display leadership qualities that value the richly varied and quickly changing world and act to sustain the natural environment by participating through ethical, informed decision-making.
“We also want them to leave our school with a global-mindedness that will create a life of possibility and contribute to a more peaceful society.”
Scott, who published his first full length book at the age of 26, and completed his doctorate before the age of 30, was chosen as an African leader by the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2012.
He was more recently chosen as a young African leader, meeting with US President Barack Obama at a town hall event in Johannesburg.
One of his most prominent successes has been the African NGO he started in 2011, called Young People in International Affairs (YPIA), that helps foster young leadership through training, special guest lectures and opinion pieces written by the youth across the globe.
“I am passionate about youth leadership and the power the younger generations have in making this world we live in a better place, and this is why I started YPIA,” Dr Firsing said.
“We have now opened a branch at NAIS that will open doors for our students that they don’t even know exist.”
