Scott Boldt is a long-time partner and valued friend of XP, and recently, he brought his wealth of experience and stories to our Year 8 students at both XP Doncaster and XP Gateshead. Scott joined us as an expert to support their current Learning Expedition, “Should I Stay, Or Should I Go?” where students are grappling with the complex and timely guiding question: “Is Migration Worth the Risk?”
The sessions kicked off with a mystery piece. Scott asked the students to guess where he originated from based solely on his accent. The room buzzed with suggestions as students called out everything from the USA and Australia to Ireland and New Zealand! While his accent certainly kept them guessing, Scott eventually revealed his true roots: he comes from a Polish heritage and was raised on the south side of Chicago in the USA. Scott shared his early life experiences as he grew up in a working-class household with a mother who worked as a waitress and a father in a factory. His journey from those Chicago streets to the classrooms of XP is a story in itself.
Scott’s personal history served as a perfect living example of the “push and pull” factors of migration. Before his life of travel began, he had never even stepped foot on a plane. His journey took him from Chicago to Dublin for his studies, where life took a romantic turn when he met his future wife, Hilary. This connection eventually led him to Belfast, but the move wasn’t without its hurdles; at one point, the necessity of work and the complexities of securing a visa actually required him to move back to Chicago to ensure he could eventually settle with his family.
During the visit, Scott helped students connect these personal anecdotes to broader historical and global themes. He explored the various reasons people move, whether for adventure and love, or out of necessity due to war, oppression, or environmental disasters. He delved into the history of the Irish Famine in the 1840s, explaining how colonisation by Britain fundamentally stripped wealth from the land and imposed laws from a distant Westminster. This led to a nuanced discussion about the negative impacts of colonisation, such as the loss of language and culture, alongside some of the complex systemic changes like education and infrastructure.
When students asked how migration had changed him, Scott reflected on how moving away from home had been fuelled by his sense of adventure, assimilation, and profound self-discovery. Without a doubt his extensive travels (we counted he’d been to at least thirty countries) had fundamentally changed and influenced how he views the world and our common humanity. While he cited South Africa as one of the most beautiful places he’s ever visited, filled with stunning scenery and wildlife, he admitted that Ireland has his heart because it is where he settled and built his life. He also shared his impactful work on “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland, discussing how he actually worked towards peace and reconciliation in a region deeply affected by its own history of colonisation and migration.
We would like to thank Scott for his important and informative contribution as an ‘expert’ and look forward to when he visits our Trust in the future.
