Most schools have leadership programs. A student government. A club president. A senior who gets to speak at graduation. At BC High, leadership is something different: a practice, a formation, and a six-year commitment that begins in seventh grade and culminates in students who are prepared to lead not because they held a title, but because they did the work.
The Michael D. White '70 Center for Emerging Leaders organizes that work around the Jesuit charism "Spiritu, corde, practice" – in the Spirit, from the heart, practically. Leadership at BC High is other-centered and character-driven. There is a deliberate structure behind it, and it runs from middle school through graduation.
One of the things that distinguishes BC High's leadership programs for high school students from most others is that they don't start in high school. The Michael D. White '70 Center for Emerging Leaders serves grades 7 through 12, which means the formation begins Arrupe, BC High's middle school division, and builds continuously through senior year.
In eighth grade, the Arrupe Assembly Leadership Team puts students in charge of planning and running school-wide assemblies for the entire Arrupe Division. Topics range from Thanksgiving and Christmas themes to teambuilding competitions between grades and activities designed to help students get to know their teachers. These aren't supervised projects with adult guardrails. Students brainstorm, plan, and execute.
The 8th Grade Leadership Day takes this further. Seniors from BC High's Models of Leadership course spend six weeks preparing presentations on leadership frameworks, then deliver them directly to the 8th graders who are preparing to enter high school. Topics have included the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, styles of leadership for varying contexts, and how to build a strong team culture. A panel of juniors from the Emerging Leaders Certificate program closes the day by answering the question every 8th grader is quietly asking: what do I wish I knew going into high school?
The center of BC High's sophomore-year leadership formation is the Emerging Leaders Cohort, a structured program that runs across 18 sessions on Wednesday mornings throughout the year. Recenty, the cohort included 52 sophomore participants and 9 junior cohort leaders.
The structure is intentional. Junior leaders meet weekly with the Center Director to brainstorm and plan sessions, then each lead a portion of the meetings themselves. Leadership development for students, at BC High, means students are asked to practice it in real time, not just study it.
Meeting topics from the most recent cohort included professionalism and first impressions, goal setting, Ignatian leadership for teenagers, personality versus character, attention to detail and the Magis, and culture code. The cohort also covered Dan Goleman's styles of leadership and the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, both taught by Models of Leadership seniors.
Students from the Class of 2027 described the impact in their own words:
"I've grown as a leader this year by becoming more group oriented. This change of mindset has allowed me to take on larger roles such as Model UN chair/crisis staff manager." — William '27
"I have learned how to better listen to the people you are leading. I have learned to take into account all of the people that you are leading and how your decisions affect them." - William '27
"I believe that I have learned how to be a true leader rather than someone who acts like one. I have grown in my speaking ability along with my organization due to this cohort of Emerging Leaders." - Brady '27
Youth leadership programs for high school students at BC High operate across multiple tracks, not a single pathway. Depending on where a student's leadership lives, whether on a team, in a classroom, or in the workplace, there's a program built for it.
The Captains' Club supports student leaders on varsity athletic teams as they grow into the responsibilities of leading culture within each sport. Fall, winter, and spring sports captains meet monthly to discuss communication skills, responsible social media use, team morale, and best practices in sports psychology and culture building.
The Freshman Leadership Lunches are recurring lunches throughout the year where every freshman has an opportunity to reflect on effective servant leadership and discuss how he can be a leader at BC High. They serve as an entry point into the broader leadership formation community.
BC Hire is the career-readiness strand of the Center's programming. The Center hosted 34 students for a resume workshop in partnership with BC Hire, with sessions on cover letters and interview skills. Students also heard from alumni and parents across diverse career paths, including Jon Kanter P'25, CFO of the Public Consulting Group; John Barros '92, former Chief of Economic Development for the City of Boston; Dr. John Keaney, MD '79, Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine at Mass General Brigham; and a Women in Business Leadership panel featuring April Anderson P'26, President of Anderson Strategic Advisors, and Yvonne Garcia P'25, Chief of Staff at State Street.
For students who want to formalize their leadership development, the Leadership Certificate program provides a structured four-year pathway. Students indicate their intent to pursue the certificate by the end of sophomore year, and all requirements must be satisfied by the last day of senior classes.
The requirements span academics and experience: two designated leadership courses across two departments, 12 Michael D. White Center program sessions per year, a monthly reflection on leadership experiences, a leadership project each semester within an existing BC High program, a final reflection communicated in three to five minutes in a format of the student's choosing, and a public exposition at the Student Expo.
Recently the Leadership Certificate program graduated a cohort of 11 certificate earners. Additionally, 15 new members entered the program. The certificate integrates academic work, Center programming, and regular reflection to track how students grow as leaders across their junior and senior years. For a BC High graduate applying to college, it represents something concrete and verifiable: a multi-year commitment to leadership formation, recognized by the school.
The phrase most associated with Jesuit education is "men for others." At BC High, that phrase is the operating principle behind every high school leadership program the Center runs. Leadership here isn't about personal advancement. It's other-centered, character-driven, and practiced in the community.
That commitment shows up in experiential learning high school programming throughout the year. The Lunch and Learn series brings practitioners and alumni into conversation with students on topics from disability technology and innovation to entrepreneurship to careers in journalism and finance. The Student Summit on the Science of Happiness, run in partnership with the Shields Center for Innovation, brought students from Fontbonne Academy and Notre Dame Academy to BC High to explore challenges and potential solutions for mental health and happiness. Featured topics included understanding happiness and faith, managing relationships, and finding one's calling.
Perhaps the most telling proof point is the Summer Student Summit. In June, 36 students voluntarily came back to school after the year had ended for a full-day summit on the foundations of leadership. The topics were practical: identifying values, creating a statement of purpose, discernment as a tool in decisions large and small, building a strong culture, and the practical application of skills. Students didn't have to be there. They chose to be.
Students can enter the Center's programs at multiple points across their time at BC High. The Emerging Leaders Cohort opens in sophomore year. The Leadership Council is open to students in grades 9 through 12. Arrupe students can join lunch and Flex activities. The Captains' Club is available to varsity athletes across all seasons. Students interested in the Leadership Certificate should declare their intent by the end of sophomore year.
Learn more about high school leadership programs at BC High and the Michael D. White '70 Center for Emerging Leaders.