• There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.
Centers of Human Excellence Leadership Programming

Leadership Programming at the
Center for Emerging Leaders

What the Center for Emerging Leaders Offers

The Center for Emerging Leaders helps students become servant leaders with the character, confidence, and practical skills to make those around them better.

Through Freshman Leadership Lunches, the Emerging Leaders Cohort, Captains' Club, Lunch and Learns, BC Hire Career Connections, and a formal Leadership Certificate pathway, the Center accompanies every student at this Catholic school in Boston.

BC High's center for EMERGING LEADERS

What Your Son Will Gain

Students who engage with the Center for Emerging Leaders graduate with skills and habits that carry directly into college and beyond.

Strong Relationships and Depth of Connection
High Standard of Personal Character
Effective Communication and Active Listening
Problem-Solving and Reflective Thinking
Ignatian Discernment and Self-Knowledge
Professional Skills: How to dress for a formal meeting, how to greet someone, the importance of a thank you note, how to communicate ideas clearly

Why Leadership Formation at BC High Is Different

The Center is built around a conviction drawn straight from the Ignatian tradition: leadership is about making those around you better, not advancing yourself. Students who come through these high school leadership programs leave with a high standard of personal character, strong relationships, effective communication, the ability to reflect and solve problems, and the practical professional habits that carry them into college and beyond.


Every student can lead, whether in the classroom, in House spaces, in co-curriculars, or in clubs. The Center's job is to help each one find those spaces and grow in them.

 

Leadership at BC High

One question families often raise is whether their son needs to be a natural leader or an extrovert to benefit from these programs.

Paul Carty P’32 explains: leadership is learned and practiced through time and intention. Every community has opportunities to lead. The Center for Emerging Leaders helps each student find and grow in those spaces, from a 7th grader at his first Civics Day to a senior presenting at the Summer Student Summit.

2026 Outfront Liveboards 1080x1920 (4)

A Message From Our Director

Welcome to the Center for Emerging Leaders. You are joining a rich tradition of successful leaders who have walked the halls of BC High. Come hear their stories, share your own, and blaze your own trail. Whether you find yourself leading in English class, on the basketball court, or eventually on the Governor's Youth Advisory Council, we are here to accompany you.

- Paul Carty P'32, Director, Michael D. White ’70 Center for Emerging Leaders

Programming Through the Years

Arrupe Division

Leadership formation at this private middle school in Boston begins in the Arrupe Division, where four programs build the foundation before students enter high school.

Students hear from leaders at the town, county, and state level, with an introduction to civic leadership and community impact.

Takeaway: I can make a difference in my community.

A day-long experience focused on team building and growing communication skills.

Takeaway: Leadership starts with how I treat the people next to me.

A collaborative project focused on problem-solving and communication in a group setting.

Takeaway: I lead better when I listen better.

A weekly group that plans and runs middle school assemblies. Students take genuine responsibility for their community from the start.

Takeaway: I can lead right now, in the community I already belong to.

BC High's Center for Emerging Leaders begins accompanying students from their first year. Grade 6 programming is currently in development, and we're designing experiences that introduce students to leadership from day one. Stay tuned for updates as we build out this next chapter of the BC High experience.

High School Division

The Center for Emerging Leaders accompanies high school students from freshman year through graduation, with each stage asking more of them as they develop.

Recurring lunches throughout the year where every freshman has an opportunity to reflect on effective servant leadership and discuss how he can lead at BC High. The entry point into the broader formation community.


Takeaway: Leadership is something I can practice starting today.

The Cohort meets on Wednesday mornings across 19 sessions to learn leadership skills and actively reflect on what it means to develop as a leader.

In 2025-26, the program included 60 sophomore participants and 13 junior cohort leaders. Meeting topics have included professionalism and first impressions, goal setting, Ignatian leadership for teenagers, personality versus character, attention to detail and the Magis, culture code, and Dan Goleman's Styles of Leadership.

The peer leadership model is what makes the cohort distinct. Junior leaders meet twice a month with the Center Director to plan sessions, then each lead a portion of the meetings themselves. Formation is happening at two levels simultaneously.

I have grown a lot as a leader this year. I have learned how to have more meaningful conversations with others and how to be a role model for others." - Brendan '28

"I have grown as a leader this year through becoming a better listener and servant leader." - Ben '28

"I have grown into a leader through my time in the cohort, and now in the house space, stepping into my new role as captain, planning house meetings, and connecting with the underclassmen." - Grant '27

Takeaway: I lead by making the people around me better.

Supports student leaders on varsity athletic teams as they grow into the responsibilities of leading culture within each program. Fall, winter, and spring sports captains meet twice monthly: once for all sports together and once for sports that are in-season, focusing on communication skills, team culture, goal-setting, and mindset.

In 2025-26, the Center hosted Brandyn Curry, former captain of the Harvard basketball team, who shared his approach to communication, resiliency, and earning trust with teammates.

Takeaway: A captain sets the culture, on and off the field.

Many students who complete the Center's programming go on to serve as House Captains and Vice Captains. The Center for Emerging Leaders works with Vice Captains monthly on the responsibilities of leading their communities.

Takeaway: Leadership in a House is leadership for life.
 

Open to all students. Speakers have come from medicine, finance, law, television production, radio, commercial real estate, and pharmaceuticals, among other fields.

Recent guests have included an entrepreneur and angel investor who co-founded a corporate learning platform; an electrical engineer and founder who built and sold a company in the aerospace and defense markets; a radio personality and Marconi Radio Award winner; a professor of public policy and BC High alum; and a panel on law enforcement featuring a State Police detective lieutenant, an assistant district attorney, and a white-collar defense attorney.

In partnership with the Shields Center for Innovation, the Center also co-hosted a Life Sciences Breakfast bringing together professionals from Boston Children's Hospital, Eli Lilly, Mass General, and a biotech CEO.

Takeaway: I can learn to lead from anyone in any field. 

Resume workshops, cover letter sessions, and interview skills training, with speakers from alumni and parent networks across diverse career paths.

Recently, the Center hosted 34 students and welcomed speakers including Jon Kanter P'25, CFO of the Public Consulting Group; John Barros '92, former Chief of Economic Development for the City of Boston; and Dr. John Keaney, MD '79, Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine at Mass General Brigham.

Takeaway: I know how to walk into a room and make it count.

Leadership Across the School

The Center for Emerging Leaders partners with faculty, athletics, and the House System to embed leadership formation across school life, reaching students at every level of involvement.

Examples include the Leadership Designation in courses across departments and the Student Summit on the Science of Happiness, run in partnership with the Center for Innovation and open to students from partner schools including Fontbonne Academy and Notre Dame Academy.

Student Summit on the Science of Happiness

A day-long event featuring large group presentations and breakout sessions on mental health, happiness, purpose, meaning, and relationships.

HOBY
Hugh O'Brien Youth Leadership Conference

Each year, the Center selects students from the Emerging Leaders Cohort to attend HOBY, a national youth leadership conference.

Five students from the Class of 2028 attended in June, 2026 and returned to serve as junior cohort leaders the following year.

Summer Student Summit

Each June, students voluntarily return to campus for a full day of work on the foundations of leadership.

Recently, 36 students attended sessions on identifying values, creating a statement of purpose, discernment, building a strong culture, and the practical application of skills.

55323940102_b7e3639ee5_o
Programming

Summit on Leadership and Civil Dialogue

In June 2026, the Center co-hosted a two-day student summit with the Edmond D. Villani '64 Institute for Civil Discourse.

Thirty-six members of the Class of 2027 gathered for a day of conflict resilience training led by Bob Bordone of Harvard Law School and his associate Patricia Alejandro of Miami Law School, followed by a day of team-building at Hale Reservation in Westwood. This summit served as the launch point for students entering the Villani Seminar in the fall.

Programming

The Leadership Certificate

The Leadership Certificate at BC High signals that a student made an intentional, multi-year commitment to leadership formation: depth of engagement and character development that stands out on a college application.

Requirements

To earn the Leadership Certificate, a student must complete:

  • At least two leadership-designated courses across departments
  • 10 speaker sessions or field trips across sophomore through senior year, each with a written reflection
  • Monthly in-person reflections
  • A personal website with a portfolio of work

Students should declare their intent by the end of sophomore year.

CENTER HIGHLIGHTS

Programming Highlights

In 2025-26, the Center for Emerging Leaders grew its programming and launched several new initiatives.

  • Summit on Leadership and Civil Dialogue

    The Center co-hosted a two-day summit with the Villani Institute for Civil Discourse in June 2026, bringing together 36 incoming seniors for conflict resilience training with Bob Bordone of Harvard Law School. The partnership between the two programs is a new model for cross-center formation at BC High.

  • Marianne Emerton Fitzpatrick Community Impact Awars

    Supported by a gift from the Fitzpatrick family, the award funds juniors who design and complete a project serving a local community need.

    The 2025-26 recipients cleaned headstones in local cemeteries, led a school recess restoration project at St. Mary's of the Hills, and created a pen pal program for those living with dementia.

  • 8th Grade Retreat

    For the first time, the Center partnered with the McNeice Center for Ignatian Identity and Formation on the 8th Grade Retreat at Hale Reservation.

    The theme was "Finding God in Friendship and Community." The partnership will continue in 2026-27, with expanded pre- and post-retreat reflection work built in.

More to Explore

Further Reading

Frequently Asked Questions

Leadership at BC High is learned through time and intention, not something students are born with. Every community a student is part of has opportunities to lead. The Center for Emerging Leaders helps each student identify where those opportunities are and develop in them.

Programming begins in the Arrupe Division during 6th grade. In 7th Grade, we kick off with Civics Day and Assembly Group. In high school, Freshman Leadership Lunches are the entry point in grade 9. The Emerging Leaders Cohort opens in grade 10. Lunch and Learns and BC Hire are open to all students throughout high school.

The Leadership Certificate recognizes students who made an intentional, multi-year commitment to leadership formation at BC High. It requires designated coursework, speaker attendance with reflection, monthly in-person reflection, and a personal portfolio. It signals depth of engagement and character development that stands out on a college application.

Standard leadership programs often focus on skills and outcomes. The Ignatian model starts with self-knowledge and asks a different question: how do I use my gifts to serve others and elevate the people around me? The focus is on personal growth, depth of relationships, discernment, and loving service.