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Sadie Nash Leadership Project’s Summer Institute began in 2002, with a goal to help New York City high-school girls recognize themselves as empowered leaders. Through relevant seminars that explore social and political issues, college and career preparation workshops, and mentoring relationships, the six-week summer program fosters healthy self-confidence, academic growth, and creative expression that helps young women find their voices at what can be a very vulnerable time in their lives.
Sarah Pitcock, senior director of program quality at the National Summer Learning Association, says that Sadie Nash gives young women "a safe space to question, grow and mature, and in the process, practice the analytical and professional skills they will need to succeed in college and in life.” Sadie Nash stresses that leadership and community go hand in hand, but it is careful not to define community in geographic terms. "We want to show young women that you can create a sense of community and sisterhood that’s broader than a shared neighborhood,” says Program Director Shreya Malena-Sannon. That’s why Sadie Nash deliberately serves a diverse group of young women from all religious, cultural, academic, and geographic backgrounds. It is also why potential "Nashers” must apply and be interviewed to be accepted into the program. Promiti Islam, program assistant and deputy director of the summer institute, stresses the importance of this process, since it encourages young women to be heavily invested in the program. "The value of the application is to show their own desire to participate in the program. And the interview gives us a chance to know them and the girls a chance to know us.” Read more about Excellence in Summer Learning Awards |
