Lake Forest Academy hosts annual FIRE Conference for Northshore Highschools

Lake Forest Academy’s annual Fostering Intercultural Respect & Engagement Conference will take place on Jan. 23, on LFA’s campus. The FIRE Conference is open to all LFA students as well as other high school students from the Chicago area. Run by EPIC prefects Helena Secrest, ’26, and Austin Ewing, ’26, the FIRE Conference creates a safe space for the community to converse about underdiscussed topics regarding diversity, equality and cultural awareness.

Inaugurated in 2017, the FIRE Conference was created as a time for students, teachers and people outside of the LFA community to gather together and discuss topics rarely discussed in classes or an everyday setting. The primary goal was to foster safety and awareness by openly talking, listening and learning from each other.

EPIC Prefect Helena Secrest, ’26, helps host the event and gives an opening speech at the start of the FIRE Conference. Head of School Tom Johnson speaks as well and then the participants are guided in discussion throughout the day.

Regarding what the day entails, Secrest said, “A big part of the conference is the workshops. Participants get to choose which discussion groups they want to attend, and many of them focus on specific cultures or identities. For example, last year I co-hosted a workshop with the Asian Culture Union that focused on Asian stereotypes and how they impact people’s everyday lives.”

The theme for this year’s FIRE Conference was deliberately chosen to foster unity.

“This year’s theme is ‘Bridging Barriers and Forging Connections,’” Secrest said. “With how divided the world feels right now, we wanted to emphasize that this conference is a space for learning from one another and building genuine connections.”

On a more personal level, Secrest explained the significance of this conference to her: “The idea of ‘bridging barriers’ is really important to me because, at the end of the day, everyone is human. We don’t want personal identity politics or differences to get in the way of connecting with each other. Instead, we want people to focus on understanding, empathy, and shared humanity.”

For freshman and new community members thinking of participating in the FIRE Conference, Secrest said, “There are opportunities for students to either attend workshops or host them. For students attending, we really want them to participate in meaningful discussions, stay open-minded, and truly listen to what others are saying. It’s important to take in different perspectives because what you might think is ‘normal’ or ‘standard’ isn’t always the same for everyone. For workshop hosts, we encourage them to come in with essential questions that help guide the conversation. The topics should be meaningful to their identity or experiences, so the discussions feel authentic and engaging.”

Repudiating concerns over the FIRE Conference simply spreading awareness, Secrest stated that it constructs meaningful intercultural engagement.

“You’re not just learning about concepts — you’re hearing real stories directly from people. We encourage participants to use ‘I’ statements and speak from personal experience. You can never fully live in someone else’s shoes, so the best way to understand their experiences is by listening to their stories. That’s what makes the FIRE Conference so powerful: it helps people understand different perspectives and life experiences in a personal, human way.”

Especially in a boarding school, the FIRE Conference is needed in creating a safe institution with a diverse student body. As students come from all over the world, and many have lived in multiple countries or cultures, feeling a sense of belonging can be difficult, according to Secrest.

“It’s not always easy — or comfortable — to talk about those things in casual conversations,” She said. “The FIRE Conference creates a safe space where people can talk about deeper or more sensitive topics without worrying about how they’re being perceived.”

Reflecting on her past favorite FIRE Conference experience, Secrest said, “I remember talking to a girl from another school who grew up in Kazakhstan and later moved to the U.S. She shared how difficult it was and how she never really had anyone to talk to about that experience at her school. After sharing her story, I saw how she literally lit up.”

LFA has an extraordinary opportunity with the FIRE Conference, which many schools do not have, showing the impact of these discussions.

LFA’s FIRE Conference is about understanding the larger effects of being intercultural, especially in spaces where one’s culture is not the dominant one. It is a safe space where open discussion about issues of discrimination noticed or experienced can be shared; new connections are made and underexplored perspectives are shared.