A New Beginning
It used to be that high school graduation marked the end of your time in CTL. Now, in many ways, it marks the beginning.
Written by Katie Chang.
All of us have memories of Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders in high school. Maybe you remember the roundtable discussions in Fellows, or working on projects in your high school classrooms in Ambassadors. You learned so much about leadership - remember coffee, the narrow road, and asking a good question?
It used to be that high school graduation marked the end of your time in CTL. Now, in many ways, it marks the beginning.
In 2020, we took the first step of our longtime dream to connect all of you in a movement of young leaders to create Hawaii’s next chapter. We began with Summer in Hawaii, an internship program with purpose. We continued with Unfold, a 1-on-1 mentorship program in the critical period of summer after high school graduation. Then, many of you innovated in Crews as we piloted projects to make our island home better.
Last fall, we reflected on all we had learned in the past three years and crafted a plan to work together to take Vanguard to the next level.
The Purpose
A pivotal part of this plan was creating this newsletter. But why start here? This Substack, exclusively for Vanguard, will serve two important purposes.
Get to know the network
First, this will be a place where we can get to know each other. We all miss our shared spaces. The pandemic precipitated the disappearance of so many places we used to connect. We need to start bringing these back and with this in mind, I’d like this to be a digital coffee shop, of sorts.
You all should be very excited to get to know one another. You’re a fascinating group. One of you graduated with a 4-year degree in two years and wants to be an immigration lawyer. One of you just got a fellowship to travel the world for a year (can’t wait to hear your reflections on these pages). Some of you are working in tech, in the medical field, or are starting your careers as teachers. Some of you just stepped across the graduation stage at Waipahu High, Waimea High, and Pearl City High. And we adore each and every one of you. And you’re all going to enjoy meeting and connecting with one another.
Think for yourself
Second, the Substack will help you think for yourself. It will give you content that is difficult to find anywhere else - balanced, thoughtful, and provocative writing.
I want this to be a place where we think together - and where we dare to think differently. You all know I’m passionate about critical thinking! We all need to move beyond the slogans and the tweets to understand issues as they really are, and to wrestle with the complexity around us. The world is changing so rapidly - from Chat GPT to talk of a new Cold War to contentious politics around the world. There’s a lot to unpack, but I know that all of you have a true desire to think for yourselves. And this newsletter will be a powerful tool to get you there.
Each week, you’ll hear your peers weigh in on important topics. You’ll hear from Hawaii’s senior leaders in more personal interviews on leadership and other topics. You’ll hear from CTL on how to think through the hot topics of the day, as well as what’s going on in our network. And you’ll always have the opportunity to leave your thoughts in the comment section at the bottom of each article.
About the platform
If you’re not familiar with Substack, it’s quickly becoming one of the most interesting journalism platforms in the world. Journalists who can’t be heard in traditional media platforms now consider this platform their home. You’ll get content through your email, and also a library of all content on the home page.
This initiative will be led by 12 exemplary alumni who will be writing, curating, and editing the content. For now, the Substack will be Vanguard’s primary means of communication. Eventually, we’ll add a networking platform which will feature profiles of alumni, job opportunities, and more. But for now, it will be a space for us to just talk to one another.
So when you see the CTL Substack in your inbox every Friday – I hope you look forward to reading it. I’m confident that we will all feel more educated, more connected, and ultimately more courageous to lead because of it.
And the big vision? Perhaps this could one day become a leading publication for independent thought in Hawaii. With talent like yours in the network, the sky’s the limit!