Indianapolis Public Schools, in partnership with InnoPower and the district’s Future Centers, is set to host an inaugural series of empowering conversations for IPS high school students.
Speakers Series for Scholars will kick off at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5., at George Washington High School. The guest speaker is Anthony Murdock II, a native of Indianapolis and a Butler University graduate who is also a law student at Indiana University.
The new series will run February through May — under the theme “Share Your Knowledge. Impact the Future” — and will feature a different guest speaker or speakers each month. It will be hosted four times a month, each time at a different IPS high school (Arsenal Tech, Crispus Attucks, George Washington and Shortridge).
Flora Jones, Postsecondary Readiness director at IPS, said the idea for the Speakers Series for Scholars program germinated during a conversation with InnoPower’s Emil Ekiyor.
“He wanted to partner with us to develop a program that focused on talking to young people about jobs, the future and careers,” said Jones. “It’s about, ‘This is what I did when I was in high school, and this is where I am now.’”
Students will engage in both pre- and post-conversations related to the speakers and their topics, with students deciding questions to ask, and choosing a class member to ask the question.
“We’re trying to show them different modalities of having a forum in which they can be heard,” said Jones.
Students will also have time to reflect on what they learned and how they will apply the new knowledge to the rest of the school semester and to their postsecondary pathway.
This inaugural program, which runs February through May, will feature guest speakers from a variety of career and educational backgrounds whose main goal is to inspire young people to successfully move toward their postsecondary goals — whether it’s enrollment in college, enlistment into the military or employment at a livable wage.
Speakers Series for Scholars — February Schedule
The event is open to students at each of the following schools.
Feb. 5: 1 p.m. at George Washington High School
Feb. 20: 12:40 p.m., Shortridge High School
Feb. 21: 1 p.m., Crispus Attucks High School
Feb. 25: 1 p.m., Arsenal Technical High School
February’s Guest Speaker:Anthony Murdock II graduated from Butler University in less than 4 years, with degrees in political science and religion. He is a law student at the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law and works as the assistant to the school’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion. He is the co-creator of #PowerMovesOnly, owner of MURDOCK LLC, and a strategic consultant for nonprofits throughout Indianapolis.