ASP Leadership Symposium

6/17/2020

Tenley Rooney

N.H.’s top rising high school seniors to engage in hands-on leadership work

The St. Paul’s School Advanced Studies Program (ASP) 63rd session begins Monday, June 22, albeit under different circumstances than in years’ past. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the residential summer program for promising New Hampshire high school students will take place virtually. The two-week ASP Leadership Symposium involves daily webinars and question and answer sessions with leaders in state and national government, bioengineering, sociology, climate change, and immigrant and refugee support. U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen opens the symposium on Tuesday, June 23. Other scheduled guests include:

Dr. Jim Collins, a bioengineer professor at MIT
Dr. Shamus Khan ’96, chair of the Sociology Department at Columbia University
State Sen. Melanie Levesque, chair of the Election Law & Municipal Affairs Committee
Ms. Sarah Mattson Dustin, executive director of NH Legal Assistance
Dr. Jane Flegal ASP ’04, a social scientist focused on climate change and clean energy
Mr. Mukhtar Idhow, executive director of ORIS, a N.H.-based organization supporting refugees and immigrants

“The priority for the St. Paul’s summer programming has always been to serve talented New Hampshire high school students. That the School has stayed true to that mission for over 60 years is a statement of how important this connection to the New Hampshire community is for us,” says ASP Director Mike Ricard ’89. “This is especially meaningful to me as a New Hampshire native. Once the decision was made to cancel our traditional, on-campus program due to the pandemic, we immediately pivoted to designing an online summer enrichment alternative with the goal of continuing to serve these students as best we can. These kids have missed out on so much with school this spring. Hopefully, the ASP Leadership Symposium will help fill some of that void.”

This online format also features staples offered during the regular five-and-a-half-week residential program. In addition to guest lectures and small discussion groups, students will take part in a multi-session College Essay Workshop, an intensive writing class focused on creating the college essay; assistance with the college process through webinars led by SPS College Adviser Myra Singletary; and a daily community-wide gathering to start the day. Singletary will also lead optional college informational sessions in the evenings for students and their families. This programming will include a presentation on the financial aid process and an interactive webinar with Singletary and college deans. More than 100 rising seniors from over 50 state public and parochial high schools will participate in the symposium this summer.

The Advanced Studies Program was founded in 1957 by St. Paul’s School to provide talented New Hampshire public and parochial high school students with challenging educational opportunities.