One trip. Two goals. Three cities. Four flights. Five days. Mr. Maqubela and Mrs. Harlan recently took a trip to Beijing, Hong Kong, and Seoul, where they held receptions and talked to numerous parents, alumni, and students. There were two main objectives in this trip: to educate the parents on the college process and to establish the new Groton Global Asia Council.

Mrs. Harlan spent her time educating and informing parents. Asia was another stop on her visits for the parent program in addition to Charlotte, North Carolina and New York City. Her parent program included information about the college process, how things have changed, and what the parents themselves can do to help their children. This early introduction to the crazy college process gave parents a quick preview of what they and their child would soon embark on. Under the theme of inclusion, Mr. Maqubela felt that parents all over the world including Asia should have access to this information so that students from Asia do not feel as if they are at a disadvantage regarding the college process. Mrs. Harlan spoke of experience and knowledge she gained at these three cities. “By experiencing the culture I now understand and know more about students when they say, ‘I’m from ___.’” She got to see firsthand the places where 39 (around ten percent of the school population) Groton students came from, and experienced their different ways of living, new food, and friendly families. As Mr. Maqubela put it, the trip was for “friend-raising” not fund-raising.

The second objective of the trip was to launch the GGAGroton Global Asia Consul. It is a group of parents who meet and advise Mr. Maqubela on how to tackle challenges like culture shock and homesickness that children from Asia face when coming to Groton. As Mr. Maqubela says, “School leadership involves everybody – parents, alumni, and faculty all over the world. It is important that we create an inclusive community where all parents and students are updated and can be heard.” The GGA will hopefully act as a bridge connecting Groton with parents and alumni with news of changes and initiatives happening on the circle. The steering committee of the GGA will help facilitate Mr. Maqubela and Mr. Gracey’s trip to Asia in March and organize receptions. It will also help with Global Ed opportunities in China, selecting suitable host families and arranging transportation. Mr. Maqubela believes this tie to Asia is crucial, saying “In a world where half of its population lives in Asia, Asia is where the future and many opportunities lie.”

All in all, the trip was said to be a huge success, achieving the goals of updating and educating parents as well as establishing a new relationship with the Groton Global Asia Consul. Mr. Maqubela and Mrs. Harlan both hope to continue increasing dialogue, sharing information, and strengthening relationships between parents and alumni in Asia.