By: Stacy Woodard
April 22, 2016
One of our goals at Inwood Academy is to ensure our high school graduates are young men and women of good character, with outstanding leadership ability.
Sometimes my job is easy because I believe you can be a natural leader and my tenth grade student Leydiann is one such student. Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer thinks so too. Last week, Ms. Brewer announced the members of her new Council of Young Leaders of Manhattan and Leydiann was appointed to serve as a member, one of fifty teenagers. Her term started last week and runs through June 30, 2017.
Serving on the Council of Young Leaders of Manhattan will provide Leydiann with a unique opportunity to address issues facing our community and will help her to develop skills that will serve her throughout her life. We are fortunate to have Leydiann represent our community. It’s young voices and their civic engagement on subjects from urban planning to police-community relations that will make a positive difference in our neighborhood and throughout the borough of Manhattan.
What does a natural leader look like to me? It’s someone who is concerned about making a difference, pays attention to what’s around her, and understands that she has to be proactive in order to make change. That’s Leydiann. While she displays all of our school’s character traits—honesty, integrity, responsibility, caring, and restraint—it’s how she cares for others that stands out most to me. She’s a great listener and is very aware of her reaction and response to situations.
Each day, staff recognize the positive impact that a student or teacher is making and we formally recognize achievements when we celebrate our Students of the Month. However, I chose to recognize Leydiann here, on this blog, and to thank her for all she does in our school community, for being the founding President of Inwood Academy’s High School Student Council, and to how she humbly stands out and leads by example.
Let’s all congratulate Leydiann on her appointment to the Council of Young Leaders of Manhattan.
