Liane Nowell, Executive Director of the Kenauk Institute, Canada

When I think back to Round Square, the first things I remember are the exchange programmes and the opportunities to attend conferences with other schools.

What always stood out to me was that it felt like a network of schools from all over the world. There were opportunities to travel, meet new people and experience completely different ways of learning and living.

The experience that had the biggest impact on me was a semester-long exchange to St Philip’s College in Australia. At the time, I had been at the same school my whole life, so the idea of moving halfway around the world and studying somewhere completely different was both exciting and nerve-racking.

I was definitely nervous when I first arrived. I travelled to Australia with my grandparents and my sister, and I remember feeling that uncertainty that comes with starting somewhere completely new. What helped was that I wasn’t alone. The school brought all the exchange students together and I shared a dorm room with another exchange student, so there was a lot of support from the very beginning.

Once I settled in, the experience was amazing. Because it was Australia, I arrived during the Canadian summer months, so I was able to take classes that were very different from anything I would have taken at home. I remember sitting in a Grade 10 Japanese class and thinking, “Wow, I’m not going to pass this class.” In Canada, French is our second language. Suddenly I was surrounded by students learning Japanese instead. Experiences like that forced me to become more adaptable and flexible. I had to get comfortable with being in a completely new learning environment and figuring things out as I went along.

Looking back, I think it prepared me for university in a lot of ways. It also gave me the confidence to tackle things that felt unfamiliar. After the exchange, I travelled much more than I had before. I became a lot more comfortable with being uncomfortable. When you’ve done something that feels that different and that challenging, you start to think, “Well, if I could do that, there’s not much that I can’t do.”

I also came back to school with a different perspective. I’d been at the same school my entire life and already had my group of friends. Before my exchange, I don’t think I fully appreciated what it felt like to be a new student, particularly an international student arriving in a new country and trying to navigate a different culture, school system and way of life. After returning, I found myself connecting more with new students because I better understood what that experience felt like.

That lesson about stepping into unfamiliar environments and learning from people with different experiences has stayed with me throughout my life. Today, I’m the Executive Director of the Kenauk Institute, a charitable organisation focused on environmental research, education and conservation.

I’ve always loved nature and biology. Ever since I was young, I wanted to be a biologist, so the fact that I now run a biological research station still feels a little crazy to me.

One of my favourite parts of the job is getting to work alongside researchers and continue learning about the natural world. We currently support dozens of research projects and university partnerships, and every year we welcome thousands of young people through our educational programmes.

What I enjoy most, though, is working with the next generation. Every summer, we run an internship programme that supports young women in science. Watching those students arrive full of passion and curiosity is one of the most rewarding parts of what I do. I love mentoring them, learning from their perspectives and seeing where they go afterwards.

In many ways, the educational programmes we run draw on experiences I had at school and through Round Square. We spend a lot of time encouraging young people to step outside their comfort zones, whether that’s leading a group, tackling a challenging outdoor experience or simply sleeping under the stars for the first time. When people accomplish things they didn’t think were possible, they gain confidence that carries over into every other part of their lives. That’s something I experienced myself through Round Square.

One of the values that has become increasingly important in my work is environmentalism. When I speak to young people today, I know it can sometimes feel overwhelming. There is a lot of doom and gloom in the conversations around sustainability and conservation, and that can make people feel like there’s no point trying.

But the reality is that there are also incredible success stories and still so much left to discover. At Kenauk, we’ve discovered four new species on the property. I didn’t even realise there were still new species waiting to be discovered in our own backyard, yet there they were. That’s why my advice to students is not to give up. Stay curious. Look for those positive stories and opportunities to make a difference. Most importantly, spend time outside.

Building a connection with nature is one of the most powerful things you can do. Once you develop that connection, everything else follows naturally. The passion for conservation, sustainability and protecting the environment grows from there.

If I was giving advice to a student in a Round Square school today, it would be simple: take advantage of every opportunity available to you. When you’re in a Round Square school, it’s easy to take those opportunities for granted because they’re right there in front of you. Once you leave school, opportunities to travel, attend conferences, participate in exchanges and build international connections are still available, but they become harder to access and often much more competitive.

While you’re part of the network, say yes to as much as you can. For me, Round Square was really an opportunity to explore. To explore new places, new people and new perspectives. Even now, I still hold Round Square very fondly in my heart. I still talk about it regularly, and whenever I see a Round Square school, I immediately feel a connection.

More than anything, it gave me positive experiences, lasting memories and a confidence that has stayed with me throughout my life.

Today I have two young children of my own, and they love hearing stories about Australia. When I tell them that I lived there for a semester, saw koalas and even got to pet kangaroos, it completely blows their minds. In some ways, that’s what Round Square gave me: a foundation for a life filled with exploration, curiosity and connection, and those are things I’m now able to pass on to the next generation.