Left to Right: Nami Prioonhapat, May May Burapapong, and Xavier Penaloza

This week represents the culmination of months of work for three driven ISB students who have planned and organized a major student conference being attended by about 80 students from different schools as well as 20 from ISB.

Staff and students can expect to see many new faces on campus this Thursday through Sunday as ISB hosts the International Service Summit, an event that will serve as an opportunity for students to listen to speeches, prepare workshops, and attend seminars that encourage service work and the change it brings.

The summit was inspired by the ServICE Conference, another event that takes place in Bangkok. “We wanted to create something similar to that, but more international, so it had perspectives from different people,” says senior Xavier Penaloza, who, along with senior May May Burapapong and junior Nami Prioonhapat, has organized this major event.

It will bring guest speakers who work in many different careers and who have parlayed their professional experience into service work, or vice versa. For instance, attendees will hear from ISB alum Boonyanin Pakvisal, an Economics Affairs Intern at the United Nations who formerly worked as a freelance journalist covering stories related to economic development, governance, and the environment. Other speakers include Chawisa Chen, a sex therapist planning to discuss her experiences with period care. These represent just two of the many notable speakers who will be present.

The 100 or so student attendees will be sharing with one another overviews about what their service clubs have done for the communities they serve. Most of the presentations and seminars will be taking place in the CCT.