Reni Calister ’11: Leading the Way
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As the only girl on the football team, president of her high school student council, and class president at Barnard, Reni Calister ’11 was a natural to be one of Goldman Sachs’ Global Leaders this year.
The Global Leaders Program, a partnership between Goldman Sachs and the Institution of International Education, which administers the prestigious Fulbright Program and other educational endeavors, chooses 150 students from 100 universities in more than 20 countries. In addition to an award of $3,000, these students are granted the opportunity to develop their leadership skills in an international network. “I’ve often gotten myself into leadership positions, but this is the first globalized leadership program I’ll be in,” Calister enthuses.
On April 23, Calister joined 19 other students who were chosen to participate in a four-day conference at the International Institute of Education in New York City. Calister was impressed to see that the majority of the attendees were female and to discover that one of their main objectives was feminist activism.
The students engaged in activities based on real-life situations. One activity was set up as a group interview where students were required to discuss policy proposals that addressed a wide range of issues, including the military and health. Some of the judges had come from the State Department, granting the students an inside perspective on how policy-making works.
The conference opened her eyes to global-health issues and how America was perceived. Calister recalls the group was in a hotel room at 3 a.m. having a heated discussion about U.S. military activities. “I was trying to uphold our democracy, but I also said that was why I was here; I wanted to look to change the policies of America.”
The participants were a diverse group with many international students who had come to the United States to attend college. Calister was especially impressed with her roommate from Singapore who had created a program in Thailand for children whose mothers were in brothels.
The conference closed with an award ceremony at the United Nations with approximately 15 alumni Global Leaders in attendance. Calister was pleased to see that the alumni were not limited to global-justice activists but included writers and artists as well. Reni also met fellow Barnard student and Global Leader alumna Maxine Botesazan ’09 at the event. Although they were not seated at the same table, Calister said it was nice to see a fellow Barnard woman who was involved in the program.
During her sophomore year of high school, Calister was ambassador for the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Seminar, but it was at the National Outdoor Leadership School where she learned the importance of tolerance and perseverance. Calister recalls this 30-day leadership training program in the Rocky Mountains as being the most difficult experience of her life. “Real life experience builds skills. On the mountain, I learned that when things get rough, I have to keep going.”
In addition to being president of the student council, Calister, who grew up in South Orange, New Jersey, graduated high school as the principal clarinetist and captain of the soccer team. “Student government allowed me to be connected to the entire school. It also let me get involved in the outside community,” she explains. As class president for her first two years at Barnard, she continues to channel those skills and plans to run for president of the Student Government Association next year.
Also a member of the College’s Leadership Initiative Program (recently renamed the Athena Center on Leadership Studies), Barnard was her first choice because she felt that the College would foster her leadership skills. On her application to the Global Leaders Program, Calister placed a heavy emphasis on her identity as a woman leader.
“While every leadership activity I’ve done has been different, it’s always been about my personal relationships with people.” She concludes, “What I’ve always done, and will continue to do, is build lines of communication wherever I am.”
—Julie Yang ’09
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