Valentina G. is a student that sat on the COBIS Student Council during its pilot year of 2025-2026. From COBIS Member School The British School Caracas, and as co-chair, here is what she had to say about her experience...

I never really understood what it meant to have a voice. Truly, I ask what does it mean to have one– what is it used for? An instrument for singing that carried me through many school plays, a form of expression that helped converse with my friends at the lunch table, and communicate my opinion throughout debates and MUN’s. Those are the answers I most likely would’ve found myself giving to anyone who asked me up until a year ago, before I was presented with the opportunity of joining the COBIS Student Council; little did I know it was going to shape my perspective of what voice and impact meant and transform into a global community connected by a shared desire to create meaningful change.

As a student who has always loved participating in academic activities and group extracurriculars, I saw the COBIS Student Council as another opportunity to meet like-minded students from around the globe, connect with them, and learn from them. To my great pleasure, this turned out to be true and even better than I expected. Suddenly I found myself in meetings with students who also liked to speak in assemblies, share opinions, and partake in the same activities I do; Being in a room with students your age, older, younger, who have each individually had such large success in their school environments, but even larger aspiration and goals, ranging from being politicians and activists, changing the world one speech at a time, to scientists and artists finding cures and approaches to problems deemed impossible– is a very intimidating room to be in. The voice you once recognized as puissant, starts to feel substandard; because how can one individual inspire and lead as Co-Head when surrounded by individuals who constantly inspire change within you?

That reflection was the catalyst that rewired the way I perceived voice and impact, because I started to think less individually and less within the echo chamber of my own school, and more collectively — no longer asking how I alone could inspire change, but how we, as a community of students united through COBIS, could learn from one another, amplify each other’s voices, and create an impact far greater than any one school could achieve alone. The largest impact we could have was one we had together.

From that point on, a single idea about a project or suggestion for an upcoming COBIS event brought on by fellow student council members became brainstorm sessions, where all our individualities, cultural differences, expertises and opinions became interwoven, each one strengthening and complementing the next, until what began as a small conversation transformed into an ambitious and impassioned project that all of us were eager to bring to life together. The Changemakers project which aimed to tackle the United Nations SDGs in a tangible way for any student, of any age, in any country to participate and realize too that their voice matters and foster a taste for meaningful change now in their communities and hopefully for the future world. Our long debates and conversations about the social and mental implications of social media, technology and AI let us express opinions not only for ourselves but also the benefit of British International Students around the world. Not only bringing perspective you probably never would've considered or questioned beforehand to light, but helping demonstrate how resonant our voices become together as representatives.

The COBIS Student Council not only opened my mind to different perspectives, cultures, and ideas, but also helped me realize that change is far more attainable when approached collectively rather than alone. Because having a voice is not simply about being heard; it is about learning to listen just as much as you speak. It means understanding the needs, ambitions, and fears of others, and using your own confidence to encourage those who may still be searching for theirs. It means encouraging the younger student with brilliant ideas who is too afraid to raise their hand, convincing your friend to participate in the COBIS competition you know they would thrive in despite their self-doubt, and stepping outside of your own comfort zone so others may feel empowered to step outside of theirs. Because one voice may be an opinion, but many voices united become a movement.

That is what made the COBIS Student Council so impactful to me. Being surrounded by students from different schools, cultures, and backgrounds showed me that our voices become far more resonant when used not only to express ourselves, but to uplift and inspire others. Through collaboration, discussion, and shared ambition, we became part of something much greater than our individual schools — a global community connected by a shared desire to create meaningful change. And perhaps that is what it truly means to have a voice: not simply to speak for yourself, but to use your voice to connect, encourage, and create opportunities for those who come after you, ensuring that the impact of what we build today continues far beyond ourselves.