Campus Leadership Participants in Global Student Leadership Summit

Photo - Jennifer Stewart, moderator, with panelists and GSLS participants from Webster Groves campus: Kelsey Kozuszek, Layla Halilbasic, Oriana Foster, Muazuddin Mohammed

At the conclusion of the 2025 Global Student Leadership Summit (GSLS) in Geneva, Switzerland, participants were tasked with continuing to lead from within their home campuses during the Fall 2025 semester.

Designated as Global Student Ambassadors, participants were expected to volunteer for Webster-sponsored events on their home campuses, share mental health resources specific to their campus and community, engage fellow students in education or discussion around one of the summit's critical global issues, including mental health, financial instability, environmental sustainability, artificial intelligence use and inequity in access to resources, as well as participate in an event reflecting on the GSLS for International Education Week in November 2025.

The 23 Global Student Ambassadors collectively volunteered for 35 campus events, ranging from a tour at CERN for a keystone seminar to a panel discussion on Greece’s financial recovery, and many more besides. By giving their time and energy to campus events, these students helped inspire the next generation of leaders across their campuses.

Mental health was a central focus of the GSLS discussions and follow-up initiatives. Recognized as one of the most pressing issues facing today’s college students, ambassadors committed to both learning about and promoting mental health resources. The Athens and Leiden campuses used World Mental Health Day (October 10, 2025) to share information through Instagram, printed flyers and WhatsApp. The Geneva campus hosted a full mental health and wellness week, while the Vienna campus offered a hybrid session titled “Let’s Get Vulnerable: Mental Health Across Cultures” on November 24. During this event, students and a faculty member shared personal experiences and advice related to mental health challenges. The group’s diverse cultural backgrounds provided participants with eye‑opening perspectives.

The Webster Groves campus created a campaign called “The Empathy Exchange,” a campus-wide mental health initiative designed to foster connection and compassion among students. Through rotating “thought boards” placed in various buildings, students were able to anonymously share their personal struggles on sticky notes, creating a powerful tapestry of shared experiences. Each week, the boards moved to new locations, broadening the community’s understanding of what their peers were navigating. The project culminated in a central gallery at the University Center displaying all the notes, offering a moving tribute to student solidarity and a bold step toward destigmatizing mental health conversations.

In addition, the Webster Groves campus hosted a panel discussion during International Education Week. During the session, student ambassadors shared leadership insights they gained at the GSLS, reflecting on themes such as finding community, practicing vulnerability making space for everyone to contribute to progress. Their reflections highlighted the importance of inclusive leadership and the lasting influence of the summit’s lessons.

The Vienna and Webster Groves students also shared their ideas on intercultural communication and leading from where you are in a Global Gorloks podcast. The podcast producers and participants included Gus Oswald, Sofia Opferkuch, Oriana Foster, Layla Halilbasic, Muazuddin Mohammed and Kelsey Kozuszek. In the podcast, Opferkuch comments, “The summit was a pivotal moment in my personal and professional journey of trusting myself and my capabilities and knowing that I’m meant to be a leader and I’m on the right track.”

Through their creativity, collaboration and dedication, the ambassadors turned the goals of the GSLS into tangible impact. Their work highlights the power of student-led change across Webster’s global network.