MCI Students Travel to Taiwan for Student Action Summit
Last month, MCI juniors Gabrielle Finelli, Abigail Rowell, and senior Heidi Dechaine traveled across the globe to take part in a sustainable environmental responsibility attended by Taiwan, the U.S., Australia, Malaysia, Germany, Luxembourg, and Kenya. Not only did they deliver on the biggest stage, but they also got to travel across Taiwan and experience memories that will last a lifetime.
Maine Central Institute is a global community of students that come from all over the world to stay on our quaint campus located in Pittsfield, Maine. Every once in a while, there comes an opportunity for not only our international students to brave the journey to the U.S., but for our local day students to brave the journey overseas and experience parts of the world in new and exciting ways. This past year, three MCI students were given the opportunity to partake in the New Taipei City 2025 Global Sustainable Student Action Summit in Taiwan, an event that required months of preparation from juniors Gabrielle Finelli, Abigail Rowell, and senior Heidi Dechaine to make sure that they were ready to represent MCI on the global stage halfway across the world. Through their participation in the summit and their travels across Taiwan, all three of these students have experienced memories and lessons that they will take with them throughout the rest of their academic and personal journeys.
In the lead-up to this exciting experience, the three girls would meet with Head of School David Pearson every Wednesday morning before the start of school to conduct their research, prepare their research paper, and get ready for the presentations ahead. This project was essentially an extra class added on top of these students' already rigorous course loads, which really puts into perspective how major of a feat this was to tackle for our students. Nevertheless, they rose to the occasion and anxiously awaited the opportunity to travel out of the country and embark on a new and exciting adventure.
Finally, the day was here. Abi, Gabby, and Heidi made their way down to Logan International Airport with Dean of Academics Scott Giallombardo, who was accompanying them to Taiwan. The 14 hour flight to Hong Kong would be daunting to anybody who had never traveled to such lengths, but as the plane took off early Sunday morning all three girls were charged with excitement, and thus got very little sleep. A quick skip across the pond from Hong Kong to Taiwan meant that their trek was finally complete, and while all three were exhausted from their journey, there was plenty to do and plenty to look forward to. Upon arrival, members of Linkou High School staff brought them to the Hotel Cham Cham and then a walk through New Taipei, where students experienced their first bubble tea and lunch at a nearby restaurant before finally crashing and catching up on some much needed sleep.
The next day, it was right to work. Our students began rehearsing their much anticipated presentation at the conference before finding their way to Taipei 101, a massive 101-story skyscraper that was once the tallest building in the world. "It was really cool, the view was amazing… they had this incredible elevator that went so fast," explained Abi. "If you can just picture us trying to navigate that huge building or us walking down the street... the city was just so pretty and so clean, it was like nothing we had ever seen before."
The students spent the rest of their day rehearsing and narrowing down their months of work into a 15 minute presentation that would be representative of all they have invested into this experience. As the sun began to set and a new day began, the girls got some sleep and got ready for a busy couple days. They were treated to a welcome lunch the next day by the New Taipei Education Department, meeting students from across the globe who will also be presenting at the summit. After lunch, they had the chance to be on stage for a final rehearsal, which went very well. After an exciting build-up to the festivities, it was finally time for the 2025 Global Sustainability Student Action Summit to commence. Students from across the globe traveled to participate in this environmental responsibility forum in the presence of 500 members of the New Taipei Education Department, students, educators, and families. There were students presenting from the U.S., Australia, Malaysia, Germany, Luxembourg, and Kenya, as well as presentations from experts and scholars from the global educational community. The presentation topics varied from drone monitoring, to low carbon dining, to green energy smartwear, and more.
"The global sustainability conference was such an amazing experience," said Gabby. "Watching the other schools present their ideas was very cool... I learned that people’s creativity and innovation will come through when presented with the opportunity. By coming together as a big group, all of these students were able to promote their ideas for positive change in the world... I believe that it is very important that we engage in international collaboration, and by having conferences like these, young people are able to start forming solutions that can be implemented in the future. This helps establish a sense of shared responsibility as well as encourages us to continue working towards a better future for our planet."
Following the forum, the girls were treated to a celebratory dinner before making their way to a nearby market for games, activities, and some much needed fun. The next day, the students traveled to a nearby high school and participated in a sustainable activity with other students who were a part of the conference. They had the opportunity to sew jackets and weave bags out of recycled fabric and yarn, which was a great way to put into practice all that they had been researching and preaching in regards to making our planet a better and more sustainable place. It was also a great opportunity for our MCI students to interact with other students from across the globe. After another nice dinner at Taipei Main Station with our consultants, the girls were getting ready for what would be their final day of the trip.
Much of the girls final day in Taiwan was spent at a national park overlooking the mountains and scenery surrounding Taipei. Clouds of sulfur poured out of the mountainside as it was an active volcano site, which was a very cool experience that not everybody gets to see. After more time hiking and enjoying all that the Taiwan nature had to offer, the girls then got the opportunity to travel back into Taipei City to observe over 8,000 years of history reflecting the traditions and heritage of the Taiwanese, Chinese, and beyond.
“We got the chance to go to the National Palace Museum, which was just really cool," explained Abi. "A gentleman took us around to all these galleries and went into all these pieces in depth and talked about the cutting age technology at the time... the whole place was just a huge achievement and overall it was just so pretty.”
Unfortunately, it was at this point where Abi, Gabby, and Heidi's journey had come to an end, and it was time to come home. From the lead up to the conference, to the presentation at the forum, to all the exploring and moments in between, these three students got to experience something that few MCI students ever will. It was an incredible opportunity not only for these three girls, but for MCI and future MCI students as well. There will be more opportunities for our students to speak and make a name for themselves on the global stage. We hope that we will continue to not only make memories that will last a lifetime for our MCI students, but also enforce how essential it is that they are active members of society and active members of the solutions that are popping up all across the globe.
"This trip has allowed me to reflect on the pressing matter of getting involved in solving global issues," said Gabby. "The experience I had in Taiwan helped me recognize the importance of working towards bigger problems. This will help guide me in the right direction for my future, as I would like to make sure whatever I end up doing has an impact. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity in Taiwan, and I know it will have an impact on my life forever."