Student Leadership Summit: Preparing the Leaders of the 24-25 School Year
By Max Donovan ‘25
On September 4, the eve of Convocation, a group of just over 100 students—mostly seniors—gathered in King Theatre. Officially called the Student Leadership Summit, this gathering brought all student leaders together to overview the responsibilities of their positions at Milton. The curriculum was run by the head monitors, JP Giglio ‘25 and Ariam Gebresilassie ‘25, and highlighted many key leadership qualities for attendees.
Giglio stated in an interview that he and Gebresilassie had worked on this programming with Dean of Students Jose Ruiz, DEIJ Chair Melissa Lawlor, and Upper-School Principal Rachel Stone throughout the summer. Giglio stated that the curriculum “has been going on for at least the past three years,” and that head monitors have prioritized this event for student leaders. Heading into a new school year, the administration and the head monitors “have agreed that it’s important to set the tone for leadership early and get people thinking about what they want to accomplish in their positions.” These presentations create some sort of structure so that leaders can have quantifiable goals and maximize what they can do in their important roles on campus.
The curriculum itself sought to balance collaboration with personal reflection. One question posed to leaders was: “how do you want to see the year ahead?” The question aimed to make leaders think about their leadership on a broader scale. Why are they in this specific leadership position and to what end? When ambitious high school students see a leadership opportunity dangling in front of their face, some immediately envision it as a resumé booster. The goal of the summit was to cast these ambitions aside and dig deeper into why students hold leadership positions and how those positions can impact the community.
Additionally, attendees were encouraged to collaborate with other community members in the positions they hold. Clubs, organizations, and sports teams all constitute collaborative environments, so folding in new perspectives can help the mission statements of all organizations on campus, in the SGA’s view. Giglio refers to collaboration in leadership positions as the “sphere of influence.” This term alludes to all groups that you have an influence on. “Investing in community and engaging in community.” The head monitors emphasized this main takeaway to all leaders as a vital playbook for leadership positions. This takeaway ties back to Giglio’s comments on the importance of setting the tone of leadership. By investing in a leadership position because of passion for that subject, leaders can much more effectively engage in the Milton community.
Giglio also spoke to future leaders who might be reading this article: “emphasize your intentions of becoming a leader.” The most impactful leadership is “wanting that position because it’s something you’re passionate about, not just as a resumé item.” For all aspiring leaders, heed these words carefully. Following this blueprint of leadership will “give other people the same passion as you have.” This beginning-of-school summit isn’t the end of the leadership training agenda. Rather, it is a starting point. A total of four summits throughout the year will hammer the most important leadership values into the student leaders and will teach them how to be as accountable and as effective as possible.