My name is Paloma Harker, and I am a junior boarding student here at Lawrence Academy. Here at Lawrence Academy, I am a part of the Elm tree society, JV volleyball, the theater program, and a leader of Club 1899.

 

Today, I have been given the opportunity to talk about one of my favorite aspects of the Lawrence Academy community: leadership opportunities!

 

From my first visit, I knew I wanted to come to LA. On my first day on campus, I saw many new students but I also got the chance to meet many returning students who were student leaders. Throughout my time here, I have grown into a leader on campus. There are so many opportunities to be a leader here at LA – from leading a club to being a Spartan leader to being on the Moral Courage Task Force.

 

I am a leader of one of our Concordia clubs, 1899, which makes me a part of our Moral Courage Task Force. 1899 is LA’s women empowerment and women's rights club. As a leader, I help plan events, work with other leaders, and get to know my community. Coming into LA as a freshman I wanted to join as many clubs as possible. One of the first ones that I joined was what was then called “Girl Up.” I went to meetings, events, and put time and effort into the club that I loved. By the end of my freshman year, I was requested to be a Co-leader of the club which we had renamed 1899. I was ecstatic to become a leader in my community.

 

As a new student, some of the first people you will meet are going to be Spartan Leaders. There are so many different kinds of Spartan leaders. There are New Student Leaders, Residential Life Leaders, Moral Courage Task Force Leaders, and International Student Leaders. New student leaders help welcome the new students onto campus and lead groups of new students during orientation. Residential life leaders are often known as proctors, and they are often the first person you go to when there are problems in the dorms. Moral courage task force leaders get to work with new students and help impact our community by bringing in speakers and new ideas. International student leaders help bring new students from foreign countries into the community and help build new friendships.