On May 1st after school, students will come together to celebrate the diversity of the Rocky community. The conference, People of the Pack, started last year through Community Coordinators, has grown into a week-long celebration of the identities at Rocky. Mr. Powell describes it as “an event that came about because students wanted to celebrate each other.”
Ari Jackson, a student in community coordinators and one of the organizers of the event, explained “we started doing it last year . . . as a way for all of the different cultures at Rocky to be able to share something important about their culture and have it be appreciated by others.”
Each and every person has more to their identity than what is seen on the surface. The event is a creative solution to understanding others in a fun and engaging way. At its core, the conference is about constructing understanding and belonging. The organizers of the event emphasize that sharing culture is a key piece in building connections around the school.
“You need to be able to understand to be known, especially something as big as culture,” Ari said.
Mr. Powell wants “people to feel like their differences are their strengths, and we want to celebrate that.” He also hopes the event “is uplifting for everyone, and that everyone can be a part of it.”
The People of the Pack Conference will be from 4:45 to 8:30, with a keynote speaker, cultural tables, breakout sessions, and a dinner.
The event will start with cultural tables, similar to cultural fairs held by elementary schools around PSD. Mr. Powell is organizing members of the Fort Collins community to participate.
“People will set up tables with flags, activities, food . . . whatever they want to share. We want people to walk around and experience the different cultures.”
From there, everyone will move into the Media Center for an opening ceremony. There will be music events from Rocky’s bands and orchestras. This year’s keynote speaker will be Jamal Skinner from Fort Collin’s Cultural Enrichment Center.
After Skinner, there will be breakout sessions with different affinity groups. Black Student Union, Women in STEM, and GSA will have groups. Ari describes the breakout rooms as a space “where you’re able to learn more about specific people’s culture. You can talk about whatever you want to.”
Between breakout sessions, there will be a dinner, with food donated by local restaurants. Mr. Powell is looking forward to “having great conversations, and just breaking bread together.”
After the final break out, there will be a closing ceremony.
“A closing act . . . final goodbyes and a recentering of ‘why did we do this,” Powell said.
The People of the Pack Conference will be just one part of a week-long celebration of identities. Throughout the week there will be spirit days, a trivia event with Women in STEM, and much more.
Community Coordinators hope the event will draw a large, diverse crowd. Everyone deserves to be celebrated, which is exactly what this event is for.
“We want as many people as possible to be there to represent and experience the depth of our community,” Powell said.
By celebrating what makes each member of our community unique, People of the Pack aims to remind students that belonging can only start with understanding, and that every identity has its place at Rocky.
Watch for information for how you can participate on video announcements in coming weeks.
Maleah • Apr 9, 2026 at 10:49 am
This is such a creative idea I love how it wants us to show our differences as strengths, that was a good way to describe it!