NURTURING A GLOBAL MIND

Today’s education at Kelvin Grove State College is preparing its students for tomorrow’s world.

Growing up in the small Central Queensland town of Mount Morgan, Joel Buchholz has long understood the importance of connecting young people with the wider world. As the new Executive Principal of Kelvin Grove State College, Joel finds himself leading a school community larger than the entire hometown of his childhood.

“A large school community like KGSC is much like a small town,” Joel reflects. “Its strength lies in its sense of community and in sustaining an authentic sense of belonging and an appreciation for its rich diversity. When you have a clear sense of belonging and identity within your community, you also have the confidence to raise your gaze and look beyond your local context to bigger challenges and opportunities.”

In a career that has taken him overseas and to regional and remote communities across Queensland, Joel has continued to be guided by this philosophy of balancing local connection and global impact. “In a rapidly changing and interconnected world, we need our young people ready to play an active role in their local community but also to be confident and competitive contributors in an international community and a global economy,” he says.

This focus has shaped Joel’s extensive involvement in international education and his leadership of initiatives promoting students’ skills of global citizenship. In fact, Joel is the secretary of the Council of International Schools, an accreditation agency headquartered in Europe that promotes excellence and innovation across its 2000 member schools and universities around the globe. Joel has led accreditation visits to schools across Australia and in locations as diverse as Thailand, Chile, Kazakhstan, and the UK. Joel also oversaw the development of an award-winning Global Citizenship program at his previous school in Townsville.

Joel was drawn to his new role at Kelvin Grove State College by what he saw as the strong connection between his own professional values and the college’s just cause of ‘nurturing globally competent learners, leaders and citizens’.

“Kelvin Grove is a diverse, dynamic and forward-focussed place of learning that has developed truly innovative programs that connect students to their local community and that also enable them to be change-makers at an international level,” he says.

Kelvin Grove’s Open Futures initiative provides a coordinated approach to the college’s extensive collaboration with industry, community, and the higher education sector. The initiative supports local research and community-based projects including an urban vertical farm (Barrambin Farm) and an Indigenous Garden (Jagum Barrambin), as well as partnerships that engage students with emerging technology, employment, and entrepreneurship opportunities across industry areas as diverse as health, engineering, and the arts.

One project Joel recently oversaw has led to the Department of Education’s development of the Queensland Global Youth Summit. “An entirely student-led event has provided the blueprint for an exciting new opportunity for young people across Queensland to work together on complex global challenges. Whether they attend school in a small town like Mount Morgan or right here in the heart of Brisbane, all of our students should be challenged and supported to become the leaders we need for tomorrow. Kelvin Grove is playing a leading role in this endeavour, and I feel very privileged to be able to help guide this important work.”