In Connection, Upper School Leaders Pave the Way

On Tuesday, August 30, approximately 60 Upper School students who hold leadership positions, in clubs, as class presidents, as athletics captains, and on committees, came together in the Great Room for the 2023 Student Leadership Summit.

The Presidents Council organized an exciting itinerary aligned with the summit’s theme, “In Connection, We Pave the Way.” Members of the 2023–2024 Presidents Council are Megan Altier ’24, Student Affairs President; Nina Choi ’24, Arts Committee President; Stephanie James ’24, Social Committee President; Alyma Karbownik ’24, Athletic Association President; Gabrielle Liberman ’24, Senior Class President; Annabelle Walter ’24, Judiciary President; Miranda Wang ’24, Community Service President; and Ava Zinna ’24, Senate President.

“The summit showed me that good teams don’t always have to consist of like-minded people with the same strengths and the same goals,” Megan says. “Instead, the best teams often consist of individuals with diverse patterns of thought and unique qualities that enable them to be successful. They also don’t shelter talent from the limelight but rather provide opportunities for every member to lead in every way she’s capable of, so each can demonstrate her leadership the very best she can.”

Ava began the summit with a challenge — the human knot, to encourage teamwork and make physical connections among peers. Next, the student leaders completed three workshops together. Gabrielle and Annabelle led a workshop on what it means to lead; Alyma and Miranda’s was on building cohesive teams, and Megan and Nina concluded by outlining a plan for putting ideas into action.

Says Nina, “I helped lead the activity in which students created strength maps in their table groups. I’m hoping the leaders there learned the value of recognizing everyone’s unique strengths and how these individual strengths can play off each other to build an efficient, impactful team.”

Adds Alyma, “There were so many different kinds of leaders at the summit who concentrated on completely opposite subjects, yet we all had in common the desire to encourage others to strive for their own goals and those of their team.”

The students say they left the summit feeling connected with one another, empowered as young leaders, and ready to pave the way for an exciting 2023–2024 academic year.