Havergal’s Portrait of a Graduate
In today’s world, the only constant we have is change. This has become more evident than ever and has reshaped how we, as educators, prepare our students for the future. As we strive to create the leaders of tomorrow, we can’t focus only on what our students learn; we also need to prioritize how our students learn. By creating a flexible, innovative learning environment, we can foster the exact qualities the future will demand.
In recent years, the concept of a “VUCA world”—developed by economists and university professors Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus in their book Leaders: The Strategies for Taking Charge—has gained popularity to explain a constantly changing business environment. VUCA stands for “volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous” and describes the landscape within which our graduates will strive to lead. At Havergal, we believe in preparing our students for a world we can’t yet see, touch or imagine. A VUCA world demands leaders who can face new challenges with agility, integrity and creativity. Our vision of a Havergal graduate is someone who exemplifies these qualities.
Our Portrait of a Graduate helps us determine what programming and experiences will prepare our students to be future-ready. To quote the late American writer and futurist Alvin Toffler: “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.” With this in mind, we are striving to ensure that our students are active participants of change and that they head out into our ever-changing world with the skills to be globally minded, adaptable and innovative leaders.
HC-X, our digital innovation hub, was conceived with this kind of forward-thinking flexibility in mind. It’s education with intention. With incubator programming such as our Global Leading and Learning Diploma (GLLD), Blended Learning and Digital Wisdom, we are equipping our learners with real-world skills that allow them to engage in that still-unknown future. Tomorrow’s global landscape will look very different, and we are preparing our students to lead in the creation of new jobs and new opportunities.
In this issue, you’ll learn about all the qualities that shape our Portrait of a Graduate and the vision we have for our graduates as they head out into the world. We’ll also dive deeper into our Education with Intention philosophy and how it supports our existing and future programming. Plus, you’ll get to see a few of our recent graduates who are already making their own mark on the world. Most importantly, you’ll see how we are continually adapting our educational approach to ensure our graduates leave our campus as lifelong learners prepared to take on and shape the unknown future.
Sincerely,
Dr. Katrina Samson, Principal
Published April 2022
2021–22 Issue
