First Person Fall ’26

Winsor students today have the opportunity to spend a semester or year studying abroad or away. One domestic program on offer is a semester-long program at the School for Ethics and Global Leadership in Washington, D.C., which provides “intellectually motivated high school juniors who represent the diversity of the United States with the best possible opportunity to shape themselves into ethical leaders who create positive change in our world.” Senior Nina Gerson ’27 spent the first semester of her junior year at SEGL; below are excerpts from her conversation with the Bulletin. 

What informed your decision to spend part of your junior year at SEGL in Washington, D.C.? 

I’m interested in politics and the world, so it really aligned with my interests. And while Winsor has provided a great education in these areas, I felt ready for a next step. Having been at Winsor since fifth grade, I wanted to explore something new and different. It’s an academically rigorous program, and I feel I was set up very well for that at Winsor. SEGL also has programs in London and Johannesburg, but I was really interested in being able to talk to these experts, do these things, and live in D.C. 

Did your time at SEGL help you hone your interest in any specific direction? 

Yes, it did. In addition to politics, I’m also really interested in journalism. Before going to SEGL, I thought that [the program] would appeal more to my interest in politics, but [it] really connected both of those things for me, and I was able to find ways to learn or talk about journalism in this context. I also think it gave me insight into what is actually happening in D.C., what is going on in think tanks, the State Department, and the Senate—things like that. I’d always been interested in politics, but I never really knew what that would look like in college or after, or if I might want to pursue a career in it; it was just sort of something that fascinated me and that I cared about. But…after going to SEGL, I have a much better understanding of what [a career in politics] could look like, and the sort of things I might want to do.

If you could drop our readers into a specific moment of this experience that really exemplifies what it felt like to be there, what would it be?

Simulations are a big part of the curriculum. There’s a culminating simulation called the Crisis Simulation, and everyone plays a different role in the Executive Branch of government. The head of school and the ethics faculty choose who’ll act as president, and I was selected from among my cohort. That was a defining moment for me. I never expected to be the person selected for this sort of thing. 

It was a lot of work. I had to write a speech and record a video—I was worried, going into it. Then when the simulation started, I just sort of snapped into it. I started calling meetings and addressing the things I had to do: holding a press conference with questions from reporters, calling foreign dignitaries on the phone. The head of school was on the phone with me speaking in a Russian accent, pretending to be [President Vladimir] Putin. I was able to really take control, delegate, and direct people. I think that was the moment where I was really able to see how much I had learned and changed, and that I was capable of dealing with all of these things. [We were simulating] crises in Africa, and had to go to the Situation Room to prevent a genocide, direct a SEAL team mission, things like that. It was very complex. I felt proud of myself, and realized how much I have grown. It was amazing to have people—the teachers and advisors, as well as the members of my cohort—really trust me and support me. It felt like my big moment.