Op-ed\ˈäp-ˈed\(noun)
: An essay in a newspaper or magazine that gives the opinion of the writer and that is written by someone who is not employed by the newspaper or magazine
: A page of special features usually opposite the editorial page of a newspaper; also :  a feature on such a page

In 2008, The Washington Post tracked its op-ed submissions over a five-month period and found that 90 percent of those submissions came from men. This is a small sketch of how the world’s published ideas simply do not include diverse points of view. In a return engagement, Dr. Sandra Smith, History teacher at Spence, brought back The OpEd Project for a weekend workshop that gives Spence students the opportunity to shape the expression of their opinions and voices.

The OpEd Project is a venture that was started by Katie Orenstein: journalist and author. Her activism as a journalist took root as a student majoring in folklore, when she traveled to Haiti in the ’90s and was caught up in political conflicts. Since then, she has contributed to the op-ed pages of top newspapers, and her views on women, politics, culture, mythology and human rights are nationally published. Orenstein saw how statistics like The Washington Post study illustrate that what is known as thought leadership—becoming an authority on specific topics by providing answers to your listeners’ biggest questions, according to Forbes—is dominated by limited demographic representation (namely: western, white, privileged and older men). The OpEd Project harnesses thought leadership as an avenue to expand the perspectives in media, the corporate sphere, politics and the world. Through its work, more and more women (and other underrepresented groups) are making their ideas known in the form of an op-ed article and collectively have a greater voice.

Orenstein’s goal is to “change who writes history and the future,” she told me. She pointed out that we all have an opportunity to make our stories known, and that “if you’re not telling your story, someone else is telling it for you.”

On a Saturday in November, Spence juniors and seniors had the opportunity to learn how to become thought leaders by attending a six-hour OpEd Project seminar led by Lauren Sandler, a journalist and bestselling author, and Courtney Baxter, a New York Times published writer and chief of staff at the OpEd Project.

Sandler and Baxter began by building the foundation for strong and successful communication. This included discussing the ideas of credibility, evidence-based argument, effectiveness and placing yourself in the bigger picture, offering the beginnings of learning how to express opinion persuasively by fundamentally connecting to others. Throughout the session, we did a series of exercises or games containing guidance for developing important skills or techniques for thought leadership. As an example, a game called “Peak Credibility” had each participant introduce herself using the following statement: “Hello, my name is _________, and I’m an expert in _________ because _________.” The purpose was to practice advocating for yourself and for your specific skills. To become credible voices in a world filled with credible voices, Sandler and Baxter impressed upon us the importance of recognizing our own strengths and knowledge and being truthful of their value. We then applied the larger ideas of becoming persuasive communicators into what makes a good op-ed piece, asking ourselves a series of questions. Why write an op-ed? To influence policy, gather attention, gain support and to make people think. And who is your audience? It could be the educated, the average, the politician, the publisher, even an agent, or nowadays, anyone with Internet access. This is why establishing credibility is important—so your target audience will trust and pay attention to your ideas or cause.

Through further explanation of the general structure of an op-ed, each of us developed outlines based on topics for which we are passionate. Ideas ranged from how food insecurity is directly related to race to the comparison of a co-ed and private education.

Finally, we circled back to the bigger picture. How can my specific skillset and expertise help me have a say in the larger scheme of things? Although we may think of ourselves as young and inexperienced as high school students, what knowledge we have already provides the means to express ourselves on larger subjects.

The seminar concluded in the same manner one would conclude an op-ed piece. After the writer has presented an opinion and ideas, the goal is to leave the reader with something to think about or a call for action: a small task that, if accomplished, can affect meaningful change. At the end of the day, we were left with the inspiration and tools to do something seemingly small, write and publish an op-ed piece, that actually will contribute to the huge global collective effort of bringing underrepresented voices into positions of thought leadership.

Every Spence student who attended the OpEd Project seminar in past years and wrote articles because of its guidance has been published.