By Samantha Brennan, gcLi Scholar ‘11, LL’06, Assistant Head of School & Dean of Faculty, St. Mark’s School (MA)
What was your initial takeaway as a gcLi attendee in your first experience?
The Gardner Carney Leadership Institute was a transformative professional experience. I was initially interested in gcLi because I had been teaching leadership for many years. However, I was eager to learn more about the pedagogy of leadership™️ beyond my personal experience. I attended gcLi in 2007, and during the week I was inspired by the faculty’s knowledge of leadership philosophy and brain science. Moreover, I was struck by the notion that teachers can teach leadership skills to all of our students in our everyday interactions. I realized that teaching leadership did not have to happen in a program or class outside of the regular schedule, but instead could occur by purposefully setting up situations for students to be challenged, given feedback, and encouraged to try again. Additionally, the idea that leadership is a verb rather than a noun revolutionized the way that I imagined teaching leadership to students, regardless of their age or role in the school.
What was a transformational leadership experience for you early in your career?
The summer before my senior year of high school, I was a Counselor Trainee at Alford Lake Camp, a girls’ camp where I had spent many summers as a camper. That summer I was stretched to learn how to teach camp-specific skills as well as mentor the campers. I did not perceive myself to be a leader among the other CTs because I was not the loudest or most outgoing member of the group. However, halfway through the summer when one of the counselors left unexpectedly, the Camp Director asked me to serve as the counselor of the tent group. I was shocked to have been asked to serve in this leadership role. Through this process I realized that my quiet strength, ability to connect with campers in my individual way, and my strong work ethic had established my reputation as a leader without my recognizing it. While it was a challenging end of the summer, I still hold on to this experience as it motivates me to hold up the mirror for quieter leaders and help them see their strengths.
What is an exciting student leadership experience going on at St. Mark’s currently?
Lindsey Lohwater, a recent gcLi grad, oversees our Students for Sustainability group. She has embraced the idea of empowering students to oversee the initiative. She has attracted many young student leaders to the program and has established a framework for their work, allowing them to explore and share the ways in which they can positively impact our sustainability efforts at St. Mark’s School. I have loved watching Lindsey shift from a faculty-run student program to one in which the students are in the driver’s seat!
Additionally, as highlighted in Liz McColloch’s wonderful article for gcLi’s Leadership Blog in April – Leadership in All Directions – St. Mark’s is in the second year of our Lion Term initiative. Lion Term is a two-week program that ends our school year, providing meaningful experiences for our students to develop a fuller sense of their responsibilities in the evolving global community.
How was the philosophy of gcLi impacted your pedagogy and career?
The gcLi ethos has significantly impacted my work both as a Dean of Students and as a Dean of Faculty. By providing a framework for teaching leadership without a prescriptive path, I re-imagined my personal approach to teaching leadership. The Rivers School definition of leadership, which was a collaborative effort by our Leadership Committee, formed after my first gcLi experience, “leadership is being your best self and positively influencing others.” For me, the definition incorporates the idea that each of us can lead in a way that is consistent with our strengths, and also requires that we use our personal toolbox to help others lead as well.
Describe the connection between coaching leadership in faculty at St Mark’s and how you look forward to serving in a faculty role for the Gardner Carney Leadership Institute?
I am so honored to join the gcLi faculty. Of all of my professional development experiences in my career, the faculty has represented the most committed, passionate group of educators I know. As a scholar in 2011, I began to appreciate that the faculty truly lives and works in accordance with the leadership values that we hope to teach: respectful and honest dialogue, commitment to ongoing expertise in the field, and teamwork. The opportunity to be challenged to grow in these ways personally by this team of educators is very exciting to me. I am also eager to impact the participants this summer (and beyond) in the way that I was influenced in my first summer at the Leadership Lab. I strongly believe that if I can inspire a faculty member to return to their school and create leadership opportunities for their students, my experience and knowledge will have a more far-reaching impact.
What are you most excited about in your return to the Leadership Lab?
I am so excited to welcome the participants and help facilitate their journey of thinking about how the pedagogy of leadership™️ can be implemented in their schools to positively impact the students.
Samantha Brennan is the Assistant Head of School and Dean of Faculty at St. Mark’s School in Southborough, Massachusetts. Before arriving at St. Mark’s in 2016, she served as the Upper School Dean of Students at the Rivers School where she worked since 2001. Prior to her time at the Rivers School, she taught for four years at Delbarton School. Samantha earned a bachelor’s degree in science from Georgetown University, and a masters degree in education from Harvard University.