Elaine Loft, Staff Writer
Fourteen student leaders from Derryfield were invited to present at the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) annual leadership conference held on November 21 in Boston. The topic of the conference was “Cultivating Common Purpose.” The title of the Derryfield presentation was, “Strengthening Student Leadership Programming in High School”.
Dr. Reina Stimpson, head of Upper School, opened the panel discussion with an overview of the predictors of strong programming, which include: organization (supportive structures); relationships (students, teachers, and advisors); and curriculum (learning about leadership and growing interpersonal leadership skills). Stimpson then outlined the leadership program at Derryfield, which includes elected and non-elected student leaders, and introduced Ipeksu Yucel (all school president), Kelsey Beekman (sophomore president), and Jon Martinez (junior class president). Courtney Cheetham, director of wellness, reviewed the L.E.A.D. (Leadership, Ethics, and Development) curriculum, which builds toward increased independence, and centers around the philosophy that everyone can be a leader. Martinez presented data about how Derryfield students rate the development of their leadership skills in relation to their feeling of engagement at the school.
Ninth grade students, Anna Fazelat, Deepsun Adhikari, and Awaab Mousa led the attendees in an exercise called “Traffic Jam,” where the goal was to work in small teams to advance from one side of the room to the other. Pratham Gurung ’27 guided the group debrief.
Next students delved into the Derryfield Explorations program, which are student-led, and designed to immerse participants in pursuits that inspire new interests, broaden skills, and sharpen awareness of the community outside of the classroom. A mini-simulation of a Model UN-type question engaged the audience in discussion and analysis.
Genesis Mendoza Alarcon ’27 and Sparda Gurung ’25 presented on behalf of the Derryfield Multicultural Student Union, sharing stories about the annual MSU potluck, fashion show, and other cultural events. A game of “Four Corners,” challenged participants to identify international flags, peoples, and cultures.
Gurung concluded with a quote from “The power of voice in schools: Listening” (Quaglia, R., Fox, K., Lande, L. & Young, D. (2020).
“Students who see themselves as leaders are, in fact, four times more likely to set high goals and reach them. This type of leadership programming has been shown to help to increase students’ feeling of belonging; this belief combined with a leadership mindset, grows hope for their future.”
