\u201cLike Rochester on the college level, the International\u00a0Baccalaureate program has for 50 years led students in an\u00a0innovative approach to curriculum,\u201d says Jonathan Burdick, the\u00a0University\u2019s vice provost for enrollment initiatives and dean of\u00a0admissions and financial aid. \u201cIt\u2019s one that requires them to\u00a0choose a few subjects they love most and immerse themselves in\u00a0them to high levels of mastery.\u201d<\/p>\n
International Baccalaureate started with one school in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1968 and today is offered in more than 3,400 schools in 150 nations.<\/p>\n
The University also hosted the world conference in 2015. Last\u00a0week, students came from nations including Cambodia, China,\u00a0Egypt, Mozambique, and New Zealand, and states as far away as\u00a0Oregon, Texas, and Idaho. They explored the theme \u201cDefining\u00a0and Defying Boundaries\u201d with a broad spectrum of speakers and\u00a0classes.<\/p>\n Politico\u2019s John Harris delivers keynote<\/strong><\/p>\n The keynote speaker was Rochester native John Harris, co-founder and editor in chief of the political news organization Politico.<\/em> Harris has strong ties to the University. His parents,\u00a0brother, father-in-law, and sister-in-law all earned degrees from\u00a0Rochester.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a special place to me,\u201d Harris says. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m a\u00a0surrogate member of the community.”<\/p>\n Harris\u2019s talk, entitled \u201cChange and continuity in media and politics: A survivor\u2019s guide to the daily madness,” focused on Donald Trump\u2019s rise to the presidency\u2014how it happened, and what the future holds. Students asked questions ranging from whether Trump\u2019s strong personality overshadowed his political views to parallels between Trump and Richard Nixon, the only American president to resign.<\/p>\n \u201cThe questions were great,\u201d Harris says. \u201cYou can tell how much\u00a0the students care about what\u2019s going on in Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n Students take in campus, city life<\/strong><\/p>\n Students were housed in Susan B. Anthony Hall and engaged in social events such as a Rochester Red Wings minor-league baseball game, a trip to Niagara Falls, and a talent show. They had plenty of time to see the River Campus, and at least one has the University of Rochester on her radar.<\/p>\n Giselle Chavez, a rising junior at Journeys School in Jackson, Wyoming, says, \u201cI definitely am considering coming here.\u201d With interests ranging from theater to architecture, she adds, \u201cI also love the diversity here. The chaperones were\u00a0so diverse, and so in unity with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" More than 200 high school students from around the globe visited campus for the sixth annual conference, which this year focused on the theme \u201cDefining and Defying Boundaries.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":672,"featured_media":261882,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[14],"class_list":["post-261802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-university-news","tag-events"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"man](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/2017-07-31_John_Harris_123.jpg\")