The Student Voices Network held the 2021 FBISD Diversity Conference on Mar. 10 via hopin to celebrate the diverse student body of Fortbend ISD. The goal this year was to put an emphasis on unity with their tagline being, “It’s the unity for me!”

Earlier in the year, students were given the opportunity to apply to attend the conference originally set for Feb. 24, but due to the highly unusual winter storm that penetrated Texas’ power grid, it was postponed. 380 students attended the virtual conference from all 11 high schools in FBISD.

“When it came to choosing this year’s conference theme, the answer seemed clear,” first-year Voice Lilia Mitra said. “Following the events of last spring, it felt wrong to ignore or avoid discussing racial inequality and the role that it plays not only in criminal justice but in our everyday lives here in FBISD.”

The day-long conference consisted of listening to various speakers, including Dr. Dupree, talk about their experiences in a seminar meeting. There were also three breakout sessions where students and Voices Ambassadors got together in smaller groups and discussed different topics with engaging activities.

Not only were students able to leave the conference with new knowledge and skills in their pocket, but they also had tangible items that would help them remember the experience. The Student Voices Network put together gift boxes for the diversity conference. The box consisted of a mask with the tagline “It’s the unity for me” on it, a pen, a shirt, a sticker, and a notebook made specifically for the conference. 

“A lot of time and thought went into creating content around the theme and message from the color of the paper to the chosen speaker,” Mitra said. 

There was a great turnout for the conference this year. But it is usually held in person, and many students, unfortunately, lost that experience. The Voices are excited and looking forward to next year’s conference and want many more students to attend.

“Next year, I would love to see more Clements students attending the conference and signing up to join VOICES,” Mitra said. “The more diverse and genuine perspectives, the better.”