Global Education Destinations recognized Bolles eighth graders Joey Barragan ’28 and Parker Parrish ’28 for their stellar performances in the “Green Jobs in the Green Economy” Buddies Without Borders (BWB) online forum held October 7-November 18.

BWB online forums are month-long, web-based collaboration and competition projects attended by students ages 12-18 around the world. The “Green Jobs in the Green Economy” online forum in which Barragan and Parrish participated asked students from more than 20 countries to meet regularly over seven weeks to brainstorm solutions for case study partners aiming to act in more environmentally sustainable ways.  

Students learned about the latest trends and technologies, researched the environmental, social and economic impacts their assigned businesses had on the community and articulated their findings by creating a video through the lens of sustainable production (guided by Disney’s Sustainable Production team).

BWB team coaches selected Barragan and Parrish as BWB Pioneer Award winners for consistently exhibiting leadership and inspiring others to work for the common good. They are both now qualified to apply to lead a BWB Club to initiate local action, per Global Education Destinations. Parrish’s group, Team Chilli Dogs, also won the People’s Choice Award for earning the most votes from the public on the web.

BWB online forums are held three to five times per year, and around three to five representatives from each country are selected to meet weekly online. According to Global Education Destination’s website, students are grouped as equal global citizens into teams, assigned a country as their joint identity, and together throughout the month, they debate and co-author recommendation papers to solve a predefined United Nations Sustainable Development Goals-related challenge. Each team is coached by a college student and sessions feature guest speakers. All papers are reviewed and ranked by international educators including college admission officers and subject-matter experts.

For information about Bolles’ Global Learning and Engagement program, click here. #BollesGlobal