Peacebuilders come in many shapes and sizes, and in different uniforms. This was one of the clear themes as Army Colonel BJ Constantine, Army Peace fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), spoke with a 5th grade class of aspiring peacebuilders at Stoddert Elementary School in Northwest Washington, DC earlier this week.

The visit was arranged by USIP, whose Public Education staff have been working with the class since hosting them for a workshop in January. Building on previous conversations about USIP’s work and about the many ways in which peacebuilding can happen, Col. Constantine spoke to the students about his own career path and about his work in––and current research on––Egypt, which is the subject of one of their class projects.

In a room in which one quarter of the students identified themselves as having a family member who had served in one of the branches of the U.S. armed services, there was great interest in Col. Constantine’s perspective on the role of the military in peacebuilding, and in his own experience serving overseas. Col. Constantine emphasized that the army would always prefer to resolve conflicts as peacefully as possible so as to prevent the loss of life, and he talked about the importance that the U.S. government places on building good relationships with other governments, including in the Middle East.

One student asked whether he was optimistic about the possibility of peace in places like Israel and the Palestinian Territories, and Col. Constantine cited the example of musicians from the two sides partnering together as part of people-to-people diplomacy taking place on the ground. The students recalled the story of two teenagers, one Israeli and one Palestinian, at the Seeds of Peace camp, which they had seen in a "Witnesses to Peacebuilding" video during their visit to USIP, and which offered another example of how peacebuilding in divided societies can start with basic human connections.

Since visiting USIP in January 2013, the students have been developing their own ideas on how they can be peacebuilders: they shared with Col. Constantine that they have created a website and “peacebuilder buttons” to help spread the word about their after-school "Peacebuilders Club." Working with USIP, their teacher, Mr. Dingledine, is developing further activities to encourage the students’ enthusiasm and to build their practical peacebuilding skills.

As the students spontaneously lined up after the program to continue to ask Col. Constantine questions about big global issues, it was clear that seeds have already been planted in the bright and energetic minds of this particular group of young peacebuilders.