Francesca Gundrum Selected For Student Leadership Conference In Australia

submitted by Emma Willard School
Francesca Gundrum from Grafton, a junior at Emma Willard School, has been selected by the National Coalition of Girls Schools (NCGS) as one of only two delegates to represent the United States at the 2012 Student Leadership Conference, January 18-22, at The Women’s College University of Sydney in Australia.
The Student Leadership Conference is organized by The Alliance of Girls Schools Australasia, a not-for-profit organization that aims to promote the education of girls in single sex girls schools and increase public awareness that single sex schools provide the optimal learning environment for girls.
This year’s conference is titled, ”The Service Revolution,” and its goal is to prepare students to be leaders in their schools and in life. Gundrum will join 120 other student delegates from a mix of Alliance schools throughout Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. The girls selected are independent and confident young women who will be ambassadors for their school and for NCGS.
“Francesca’s school leadership experience and community service achievements speak for themselves,” said Nancy T. Mugele, Interim Executive Director of the National Coalition of Girls Schools. “She is a young woman who is moved to action and has a clear sense of how to mobilize those around her. She is a real model for her peers at Emma Willard School and beyond.”
To say Gundrum is the epitome of a student leader would be an understatement. Her list of extracurricular activities is vast. She is the Junior Class President, a two sport standout varsity athlete and recipient of Emma Willard School’s Helen Snell Cheel award for athletic achievement, sportsmanship and spirit. Gundrum is also an admissions tour guide, writing tutor, writer for “The Gargoyle” (Emma’s yearbook), a Board member of the school’s literary magazine, The Triangle, and co-head of the cooking and soup kitchen club.
“Francesca (Ches) is a high achiever in a demanding academic program,” said Trudy Hall, Head of Emma Willard School. “More than this, she is an extraordinary school citizen – poised, respectful and respected, a mature and motivated optimist in a best-of-class league of her own. She is also a superb athlete who possesses that desirable chemistry of exceptional ability, mental and physical toughness and a collaboratively competitive spirit. Ches is a truly gifted leader whose energy is felt in almost every aspect of Emma life.”
Gundrum, a student who lives locally, said she welcomes the opportunity to hone her leadership skills internationally.
“Being a student leader at a boarding school requires flexibility, tolerance, open-mindedness and a non-judgemental respect for others,” said Gundrum. “It means getting involved. It means not just listening but hearing, and it means knowing when to act and when not to.”