Alumnae Profile
TAKING ACTION
Rebecca Plough ’97 on Giving Back By Nicole Letourneau
W
hen Rebecca Plough, SBS class of 1997, sees someone in need, she is moved to take action and help. She says it is just part of who she is. It is a value she shares with her mother, Lisa Todman, but it is also a quality that she believes was cultivated during her years as a student at Stoneleigh-Burnham School.
would prohibit the girl from going to the international competition because SBS is only able to fund travel for local debates. Families pay for international travel, and it would be cost prohibitive for this girl’s family, Bassett told her.
“Not only is Stoneleigh-Burnham teaching women confidence, to be strong and independent, but it is also teaching them to take care of others and to give back to the community,” said Plough, a recruiting executive for a Fortune 500 staffing company.
shape the women we have
Plough, who lives and works in Memphis, Tennessee, and her mother were moved recently to give back to the SBS community through the establishment of a special fund to pay travel expenses for members of the Debate and Public Speaking Society whose families are unable to afford those expenses. The need came to her attention at the Leadership Symposium last fall, when she heard an excellent after-dinner speech by a student during one of the break-out sessions. Plough remarked to Paul Bassett, head coach of the debate team, that the student was probably good enough to go to the international competitions. Bassett told her that the travel costs
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“SBS helped mold and become. Anything we can do now to help them do that for other girls will go a long way. We can leave a legacy and make a better school for generations to come.” “I said, ’That’s totally unacceptable.’ You can’t have some of the most talented and skilled girls miss out. That’s just not OK with me,” Plough said.
her mother discussed the issue and decided to set up a special debate fund. The fund will be named in honor of Paul Bassett and is designed to pay need-based travel expenses for debaters “so that it is not even a consideration that they wouldn’t be able to go to competitions,” Plough said. Debate is near and dear to Plough’s heart. As a student here, Plough was a member of the debate team, and believes public speaking skills have helped her immensely in her education and career. After graduating from SBS in 1997, Plough went on to attend Lynchburg College where she earned three Bachelor’s Degrees in 2001 in business administration, corporate communications, and political science. After spending several years in sales in Colorado and Memphis, Plough decided to follow a career path in human resources and recruiting. Plough, 34, said staffing and recruiting has been the perfect fit for her professionally because it combines her passion for public speaking with her expertise in sales.
Then, she took action.
“I am teaching people how to do public speaking and that is nice because that was my first love,” she said.
After the Leadership Symposium, Plough returned home to Memphis where she and
Giving back to SBS “feels incredible,” Plough said, and hopes that other alum-