From the Model UN conference in Philadelphia, Vanessa brought home an award for her outstanding performance as a delegate - and indisputable proof that the shy, quiet girl who started Dana Hall in ninth grade was gone for good.

She arrived at age 15 as a boarder, following the lead of her sister. But in virtually every realm of Dana life, Vanessa herself has been a passionate leader ever since. Excelling in classes from AP US History to AP English, she also found time to play on three varsity teams: soccer, lacrosse and ice hockey, a sport she had never tried before Dana Hall. Perhaps most important, Vanessa has truly found her voice: "Dana Hall has taught me that if you really want to do something, no one can tell you no. You get to know what you believe, and you don't let others change that."

A leader on campus and off

Some of Vanessa's most inspiring lessons have actually happened off campus: At Model UN activities that have allowed her to get to know boys and girls from independent schools all over Greater Boston and around the country; at Newton-Wellesley hospital and a local Boys and Girls Club, where she volunteers; at the Youth Inaugural for the first African-American to win the Governorship of Massachusetts; and at conferences she attended in Dallas and Seattle, as President of Dana's multicultural awareness club, SHADES (Sisters Honoring All Diasporas & Enlightening Society). This January, building on insights she gained at the Seattle conference, she inspired the Dana community with a remarkable convocation she organized in honor of Martin Luther King Day.

Big dreams made possible

Not surprisingly, as a junior, she won the "Fitzie Award," a prize given each year to recognize a Dana girl who, Vanessa explains, "embraces a lot of things outside of school." Beyond the honor itself, the Fitzie Award provides funds the winner can use to pay for outside opportunities. Vanessa is still making plans: "I'm really interested in social justice and equality. At some point I want to study in Africa and maybe Latin America, and I know I want to do something related to community service or government." With the Fitzie Award, she will be able to turn the summer before college into a challenge and an adventure.

An independent artist

Vanessa has also made the most of Dana Hall's extensive arts courses -- and made the most of her own talent in the process. Since taking an arts elective in architecture, she's thinking of pursuing design in college. And she has turned her budding interest in sculpture into a defining theme of her senior year, through an independent study. "I found a teacher who was really interested, wrote a proposal and got it passed," says Vanessa. Eventually, she decided to transform her independent work into a Senior Project, which is optional. "I thought, Why not make it into something bigger?" she says. "Yes, it's an obligation, but it's something I'm extremely interested in." At the moment, she explains, she's trying different styles and media "to figure out what I love to do." She started with an abstract sculpture in wood, using charcoal and ink for initial sketches and an electric saw for the piece itself. "Now, I'm working in clay, doing smaller studies of people's faces. I'm getting so I can bring something to life a little more," says Vanessa. "For my Senior Project, I want to do a full body! It's a huge endeavor, but I'd really like to try it."

The joys of boarding

As Vanessa wraps up her Dana career, she is especially enthusiastic about her experience as a boarding student: "When I started at Dana, I was really scared about not being able to go home whenever I wanted. Now, I occasionally go home for the weekend" - her family lives 90 minutes away on Cape Cod - "but most of my friends are here, and I have so many activities, I want to stay on campus."  The academic benefits of boarding are obvious to her, too: "We have to learn to live on our own and develop our own study habits. You learn a lot about time management!"  College life, it seems, will be a snap.