60 Student Leaders Participate in Retreat

After arriving on campus last Thursday and settling into their dorm rooms, the leaders kicked off the retreat with an introduction to leadership through the Be Bold leadership course by One Trusted Adult. The girls used the theme of the year, “Dream Big, Achieve Bigger,” to reflect on their dreams and create a bulletin board in the Student Life lounge. 

Friday started with a lively activity to discover their leadership styles — whether they are quiet or loud, thoughtful or emotional, and serious or silly leaders. Then, students participated in workshops on cross-cultural competencies delivered by Director of International Student Services and Recruitment Kate Tomaskovic.

The afternoon focused on developing communication and time management skills and mentorship for underclassmen. Dorm Whips and Prefects met to focus on their roles and goals for the year, while Student Council, Honor Council, and other committees met to map out their responsibilities and goals for the year. The event planning workshop was a great success. The Office of Student Life offered the opportunity to put the best event proposal into action. The winning idea — a fun drive-in movie experience with Hocus Pocus as the movie showing — was proposed by the Whips! Congratulations!

The retreat ended with a reflection on what leaders learned during the retreat, and a discussion about their experience completing the Be There certificate, a mental health awareness training created by Jack.org and Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation. A sidewalk chalk drawing party capped the night. 

The Office of Student Life will provide opportunities throughout the year for leadership development, in addition to hosting schoolwide leadership weeks in October and March.