Students from Exeter Academy Visit Dartmouth

The Rockefeller Center hosted 27 students from Phillip Exeter Academy’s Charles J. Hamm Leadership Program on Wednesday, July 19. Students in the Exeter Summer Program live on campus in Exeter, New Hampshire for five weeks and participate in academic studies, athletics, and personal exploration. Of the 27 students in the Hamm Leadership Program this summer, 12 of the students are international.

The Hamm Leadership Program features excursions across New England to learn about leadership outside of the classroom. While visiting the Rockefeller Center, the students participated in a campus tour, scavenger hunt, and small group discussions. There was also a panel of Dartmouth students who shared their experiences about college life. Sadhana Hall, Deputy Director of the Rockefeller Center, presented on authenticity and leadership qualities. All activities focused on leadership in action.

Rockefeller Student Program Assistants Alexa Green ’19 and Olivia Bewley ’19 facilitated the activities. They planned a scavenger hunt where they “took them to locations across campus where student leadership occurs,” said Bewley. Locations included the Rockefeller Center, the Collis Center for Student Involvement, the BEMA, and Baker-Berry Library.

For Green, “the Leadership Academy was so impactful because it was highlighting qualities that these kids can take with them into the future, aiding them in bettering their communities and themselves. It's important to bring them to Dartmouth so they can experience a collegiate setting.”

Students were given the opportunity to ask questions to five Dartmouth students about college life and leadership. The panel was comprised of Bewley, Green, Ryan Spector ‘19, Billy Kosmidis ‘19 and Sander Kushen ’19. “Speaking with college students seemed to help a lot of the students in figuring out their own trajectory as well,” said Green.

Through the activities at the Rockefeller Center, “the students were able to learn about the real-life applications of leadership on a college campus,” said Bewley. “The theoretical aspects of leadership they learn in the classroom are important, but seeing examples of student leadership gives them a concrete sense of these theories.”  

 

-Written by Celeste Kearney ’19, Rockefeller Center Student Program Assistant for Communications.

For more information about Phillip Exeter Academy’s Charles J. Hamm Leadership Program visit: https://www.exeter.edu/summer_programs/7313.aspx