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Leadership in Action

Leadership in Action is Bryn Mawr’s distinctive character, curiosity and community-building program for all pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade students. This innovative, action-focused initiative brings together personalized leadership development for each student, community engagement experiences and social impact opportunities.

Through the Leadership in Action program Bryn Mawr students:

Feel empowered in self-discovery
Become responsible global citizens by having an impact in the world
Partner with and serve communities in the Baltimore area
Immerse themselves in real-world experiences beyond the classroom
Share their work with the community

Pillars

Leadership in Action involves three supporting pillars, which which allow students to grow, create change and expand opportunities for others:

Personalized Leadership Development: Each girl will explore and develop her personal values, voice and vision through curricular and co-curricular programming in grades PK-12.

Community Engagement: Students learn they are part of something bigger than themselves, and that they have a responsibility to advocate for inclusive and equitable practices and participate in community issues they care about in Baltimore and beyond. Scaffolded experiences and classes throughout our PK-12 program allow students to engage with our city and communities around the world in order to make a difference in someone's life.

Social Impact Lab: We provide support and resources for PK-12 students to channel their interests and curiosity to create innovative solutions for today’s pressing issues, whether on campus, in the community, or around the world. Students and faculty use the Social Impact Lab as a resource for feedback, coaching, and skill-development to help move their ideas into action.

Programs

Leadership in Action brings together both new and long-standing programs at Bryn Mawr. Through the program, students will identify their unique leadership strengths and develop practical skills such as pitch development, goal and mission setting, interview techniques, networking, financial statement analysis, systems design, and more.

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All School
- Leadership in Action Speaker Series will launch this winter for the Bryn Mawr community to help foster active engagement and responsibility to the broader community.
- Social Impact Expo - a spring festival where students from all divisions share their impact-driven work. Prizes will be awarded to a student or group of students who addresses an issue that has the most significant impact.
- Student Social Impact Lab Seed Funding - A competitive application process for students to pitch projects to a panel of faculty and alumnae. Once projects are selected, mentors will be assigned who will guide and evaluate the project process.
Lower School
- Lower School Values program
- Entrepreneurship Gateway
- Fifth Grade Leadership Lunches
- Giving Square (2nd and 3rd grade): Explore solutions in the community and practice building philanthropy skills
- Social Institute (5th-12th grade): Social-emotional learning and digital citizenship
Middle School
- Voice and Vision Seminar: A capstone project for all Middle School students challenges girls to create “something real for someone real.”
- Empowering Female Voices: Election 2020 (Grades 6-12): A six-week series of online civic engagement workshops leading up to the presidential election.
- Bringing Voice to Values: Advisory workshops on civil discourse
- The Wonder Project: 7th grade Science
- Outdoor Education: Chesapeake Bay; Outward Bound; North Ba
- Fortis Puella ("Strong Girl") Bryn Mawr's Wellness Program
Upper School
- Dozens of opportunities in Upper School for students to get involved in organizations, conferences, clubs and programs to build their own leadership approach and skills, including: UPenn Social Innovators Program, P4X Leadership Seminar, mentoring at New Century School, Invest in Girls and Edith Hamilton Scholars.
- Upper School students will serve as Ambassadors to the Social Institute, helping create and vet content for the program.

News

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Bryn Mawr to Honor Rebecca Corbett P’05 with Inaugural Howard P. Colhoun Family Woman of Consequence Award

The Bryn Mawr School will present the inaugural Howard P. Colhoun Family Woman of Consequence Award to Rebecca Corbett P’05 on Thursday, April 29, 2021. As the investigations editor at The New York Times, Ms. Corbett has overseen some of the most important news stories in the past decade, including the Harvey Weinstein investigation, which led to a cascade of sexual harassment stories around the globe and a cultural reckoning on the issue. Register for the virtual event here.
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Virtual Visits with Guest Author Dr. Mir - Leadership in Action

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Student Reporting Labs with PBS

Laila Gheis ‘25 got some real-world training in the world of journalism this fall, as one of ten teens nationwide selected to participate in the Student Reporting Labs (SRL) with PBS NewsHour.
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Leadership in Action: Polly Donaldson ’75

The Bryn Mawr School presents Polly Donaldson ’75 as the inaugural guest speaker in the Leadership in Action Speaker Series on Wednesday, November 11, at 6 p.m. The conversation will be moderated by Christina Peay '04, Director of Philanthropy and Communications at Housing Up. Please see invitation here.

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Leadership in Action Speaker Series

A highlight of our programming is the Leadership in Action Speaker Series, which provides the Bryn Mawr community with opportunities to hear from and engage with inspiring leaders. Featured speakers are invited to focus on one or more of our program’s core values — compassion, courage, collaboration, responsibility and ingenuity — and share their personal and professional insights, knowledge and experiences. The Leadership in Action Speaker Series aims to foster active engagement and responsibility to the broader community.

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Leadership in Action Student Expo: April 18 - 26, 2022

The annual Leadership in Action Student Expo will showcase and celebrate student work that has impacted a community, exemplifies leadership traits or shows a connection to something greater than oneself.

The expo will be held in a virtual format, kicking off the week of April 18, 2022. Each day, we’ll share student-produced videos showcasing projects and the processes taken to realize their ideas. Projects may include the culmination of a classroom activity or an independent idea that came to fruition outside of the classroom. The student videos will illustrate core values of the Leadership in Action Program:

Compassion - Empathy in Action
Courage - Resilient in the face of Change
Collaboration - Teamwork in Action; Diversity of thought in Action
Responsibility - Ethical Decision Making in Action
Ingenuity - Intellectual Curiosity in Action
View Event Details

2021 Leadership In Action Student Expo Videos

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2021 Student Expo Webinar

Partners

Bryn Mawr currently partners with parents, alumnae, businesses, non-profits, and other organizations in Baltimore and beyond. Partner organizations include:

University of Pennsylvania, Outward Bound,Ethics Institute at Kent Place,Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland,NOLS, The National Aquarium, Catholic Charities (Paul’s Place, Camp St. Vincent, Our Daily Bread),Lillie May Carroll Jackson Charter School, Baltimore Girls Schools’ Leadership Coalition and Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Supporters

The Bryn Mawr School gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the following donors who have invested in these important programs:

The Caplan Family Fund for Learning Innovation
The Howard P. Colhoun Family Fund