Purpose & Community
Fundamental to personal wellbeing is the life-long exploration of one’s self and one’s contribution to the world.
Emma Willard School students are asked to begin this exploration by considering the questions, “Who am I?” and, “Who am I in the context of my community?” Emma faculty guide students to identify personal values and to examine how they live out those values within our community and beyond. The curriculum fosters a sense of purpose in each student by emphasizing relevance, impact and community connection. Students learn to tap into their intrinsic motivations for learning by exploring their desire to contribute, and by developing the skills to identify goals and engage in sustained action toward achieving those goals. Students begin to build the skills of self-examination, self-efficacy, and self-compassion through practice in receiving and reflecting on feedback. Through their experience at a school dedicated to the empowerment and progress of women and girls, Emma Willard School graduates develop the skills necessary to build the world they believe ought to exist.
Madame Sabatier and Mr. Calos took ten of the Emma Green students to Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts to collaborate and inspire each other around sustainability.
If you could study anything, what would it be? If you could go anywhere, where would you go? When challenged to take an intellectual risk and design a new experiential learning opportunity for their students, many faculty members first thought of their passion for all things green.
At Emma Willard School, grassroots efforts toward sustainable practices and education have been growing for some time. When the school wrote its 2021–2026 strategic plan, Leading with Purpose, sustainability became ingrained in our vision for the future.
May is a celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month in the United States. Last Friday at Emma Willard School, we gathered at an assembly presented by the Asian Student Union (ASU) and the South Asian Sub Division (SASD) to recognize AAPI culture in our country and institution.
Activism is a common theme at Emma