The inaugural session of Dana Hall’s Girls Summer Leadership Program (GSLP) is in full swing, as 32 have girls arrived for the six-day, five-night program. Thanks to a generous grant from the Margaret Hall Foundation, the GSLP is able to welcome nationally-acclaimed author and psychologist JoAnn Deak, Ph.D., who is running workshops with the participants on self-esteem and how and why girls lead differently.

With a focus on the themes of integrity, leadership, diversity, and service, the girls are grappling with ethical dilemmas, uncovering their leadership strengths through a variety of challenges, learning about how to be an effective ally in order to prevent bullying, and organizing a day of service.

During the six-day, five-night program, the girls have the run of the campus: they will complete a Chef’s Challenge led by the Dining Center’s Doug Corrigan, hit the Shipley Center’s rock wall with climbing instructor Dave McGovern, and learned good public speaking habits from Head of School Caroline Erisman.

They also will make strong connections with each other, the Dana Hall high school mentors that staffed the program, young alumnae mentors, and an enthusiastic group of alumnae professional mentors, who are corresponding with the girls via blogs and other digital media.