WESTMINSTER
| SPRING 2014
Giving Students Tools to Succeed as Leaders While election or appointment to a leadership position is an honor for any student, many struggle with how to make the most of the opportunity because they have never been exposed to the skills that make leaders effective. A new Westminster program called the Bruyette Leadership Academy started last fall to help leaders of student government, athletics teams and organizations develop their leadership potential. Approximately 60 students have been attending biweekly meetings throughout the academic year to gain skills necessary to be more successful in their roles. The idea for the academy sprung from conversations between Director of Athletics Tim Joncas ’00 and Ken Dixon, a West Point graduate, a coach and board member with the Connecticut Northern Lights Girls Ice Hockey Program, and a business executive with a master’s degree in leadership. The two, who have known each other for a few years, began talking last spring about how students could become better leaders if they only knew how. They created a proposal for a student leadership program for Westminster, and it was approved to begin last fall. “I thought this was something we needed as a school, but I knew I could not tackle it alone,” explained Tim. “I felt Westminster students could benefit from Ken’s knowledge about leadership and a structured program to help them bring about positive change as leaders.” “What we are trying to do is build a better school community,” said Ken. “We believe that students have the ability to do that with a little more knowledge of some of the things that can make them more successful.” The meetings usually involve Ken giving a presentation about some aspect of leadership, and the students sharing progress reports on how they are implementing various strategies with their teams, forms or organizations. “Ken prepares the presentation, and I relate the discussion to what is actually going on at school,” explained Tim. “If we get going on a tangent that we feel is productive, we will just go with it. I think there is a genuine desire among these kids to make positive change, not just change for the sake of change. That is why we started the program.”
| BULLETIN
In one recent session, the focus was on the importance of interpersonal communications in getting people to work together. “The more you get people to work together, the more successful they are and the more successful you will be in your leadership role,” Ken emphasized to the students. The students shared what they want to work on at student council and team meetings and how they plan to do it. The academy is underwritten by Kathy and Gene Bruyette P’77, ’78, through the Brian T. Bruyette ’77 Fund (BTB) they established to honor the memory of their late son, Brian T. Bruyette ’77, who died from cancer in 1977, just months after his Westminster School graduation. Over the years, the BTB Fund has funded a variety of unbudgeted expenses for the athletics program. As a Martlet, Brian distinguished himself playing on First Football, First Boys’ Hockey and First Boys’ Lacrosse, singing in the choir and as a member of the John Hay Society. His sister Barry Bruyette O’Laughlin is a member of the Class of 1978. In another tribute to Brian, the award that is given annually at graduation to the Sixth Form boy and girl who exemplify excellence in athletics and who contribute to the character of their teams is named the Brian T. Bruyette ’77 Award. The Bruyettes also honored Brian’s musical interests by donating the Verdin Carillon in Andrews Memorial Chapel in 1978. “We are very fortunate that the name of the academy is the Bruyette Leadership Academy and that the Bruyette family has been kind enough to underwrite it,” said Tim. “When I explained the goal of the academy to them, they were extremely supportive. In addition to honoring Brian, the academy is helping develop current and future leaders.” “I can see nothing but pluses from it,” said Gene, who says he can recall his own school days when captains of teams were selected because they were the best athletes, and class leaders were elected because of their popularity. “Nobody cared about leadership competency, and it makes a huge difference,” he explained. “Students should not be at a loss in their leadership roles. This academy has a wonderful opportunity to provide positive impacts on just about everything going on at school. I hope that true leaders emerge as a result of it. If I were now a parent hunting for a school for my child, this program would be very persuasive to me.”
Director of Athletics Tim Joncas ’00, left, and Ken Dixon, right, with students during meetings of the Bruyette Leadership Academy.
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