Severn News

Severn Students Present on Inclusive Leadership at AIMS Learning to Lead Conference

Throughout Severn's history, our students have graduated into leaders of every kind — leaders in their communities, their nation, and their world. That’s not happenstance. We intentionally work to help our students develop leadership skills within a larger framework of compassion, empathy and community. Last week Jared Dove '18, Nina Page '17, Yasmeen Meek '18 and Patrick Wong '17 shared what they’ve learned about leadership at Severn with educators from local MD and DC schools at the AIMS Annual Learning to Lead Conference.

What is the Learning to Lead Conference?

Hosted by Gilman School in Baltimore, the Learning to Lead Conference is a day of workshops and presentations where educators come together to share strategies for cultivating leadership in their schools. AIMS Learning to Lead committee member and Severn Upper School Dean of Students Mr. Marc Buckley suggested a focus on inclusive leadership for the 2017 Learning to Lead Conference.

Mr. Buckley comments,
“Cultivating student leadership at Severn has always been important. Matching that with our initiative to create a more inclusive community seemed logical. The student leaders who presented at Gilman are passionate about fostering inclusivity at Severn and they very willingly shared their successes and challenges with other educators from around Maryland in hopes that they would start similar programs. The educators asked terrific questions, some philosophical, some practical, and our kids answered each deftly and authentically. Their presentation was warmly received. I am very proud of them.”

Severn student leaders talk about inclusive leadership at the AIMS Learing to Lead Conference.


Severn’s Presentation: Creating a Culture of Inclusiveness — Empowering Student Leadership

Our student leaders presented their experience organizing Severn’s Upper School Inclusivity Workshops this fall. While planning the inclusivity workshops, Patrick Wong '17 and Nina Page '17 called upon fellow classmates Yasmeen Meek '17 and Jared Dove '17 along with many other students for support in leading this event. They understood that good leadership is inclusive — good leaders reach outward to utilize the strengths of others to accomplish a given goal.

Upper School Head Ms. Bea Fuller reflects on the inclusive leadership demonstrated that day,
“The activity itself was a demonstration in inclusion. They didn’t see themselves as ‘experts’ imparting knowledge unto their peers. They said ‘we are people who care about this, if you want to join us, this is how you can help.’"
With the support of Mr. Buckley along with Upper School Spanish teacher and Faces of Severn Advisor Mr. Bob Campuzano, Nina, Patrick, Jared and Yasmeen took conference attendees step-by-step through the process of leading this event. They shared the full scope of planning the program from their initial inspiration at the NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference to implementation and finally reflection and evaluation.

Severn students present to a group of AIMS educators about developing inclusive leadership opportunities at their schools.
Severn Upper School students explain how they organized a day of inclusivity workshops using inclusive leadership strategies.


Teaching Relevant Leadership Skills

Good leadership is about engaging and energizing people. It’s about inspiring them to give their best, to stretch, to achieve, and to excel. As we work toward becoming a more inclusive community at Severn, it follows that we encourage our student leaders to embrace the contributions of every member of our community. Our student leaders demonstrate this in the work they do for our community and are learning the value of sharing their work with others at events like this. Learn more about leadership opportunities at Severn Upper School.

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