The summer of 2021 saw the creation of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Emma Willard School, and with it, the first iteration of the Student Diversity Leadership Group (SDLG). During the early days, the inaugural head of the department put out a call to the campus community for anyone who was interested in stepping up to do the work of equity and inclusion: an adult group and a student group coalesced. Over the last several years, the student group has evolved into red-tier leadership positions (the most prestigious and time-consuming of student roles on campus), open to students through an application process. 

These days, SDLG is made up of approximately 20 students. When the current Head of Institutional Equity and Inclusion, Prince Botchway, joined Emma Willard School in 2024, his initial thoughts on the group were centered around its sheer size. “I thought it was way too large! There are too many people; too many cooks in the kitchen. How are we going to get anything done? And I was proven wrong. It feels so good to have so many different voices and perspectives, and there's no one way to be a good SDLG member.”

Though the group is quite large, the impact of their leadership during the 2024–2025 school year has been particularly palpable. Part of that success is from dedication of time to learning. The leaders meet twice a week: once on Zoom for training, and later in person for strategic planning on how to implement their ideas. The training covers a variety of themes that can be implemented into the community, covering topics like Call-In/Call-Out ("calling in" is a private conversation to help someone understand and change harmful behavior, while "calling out" is a public, direct approach to address the harm), gender and intersectionality, interfaith topics, equality vs. access, and inclusivity. 

The SDLGs are also involved in smaller cohorts to make sure specific events happen. These include “Know Better Do Better,” a regular Morning Reports segment that helps the community learn how to navigate a variety of issues ranging from how to participate in Halloween without appropriation, tempering assumptions about class, and how to avoid accidentally participating in microaggressions. 

These segments are particularly notable for their tone, which is informative but also sometimes funny and conversational. Often, two or more students present information in skit form (a popular reports trope) and offer a perspective that might not often be considered in an effort to help our community consider heavy topics. These are often supported by informational flyers placed on campus in common areas, and include reminders that SDLG and the office of DEI are available for suggestions and support. 

One initiative that has been particularly effective is Table Talks. Once a month during lunch, SDLG members host tables in the dining hall to talk about the topic of the day. The topics range from how we talk about grades and deal with a culture of grade comparison to how to discuss politics in a civil manner, free speech, advocacy on college campuses, immigration, how religion shapes identity, and much more! The talks are facilitated by an SDLG member, are open to any community member who wishes to join, and are easy to drop-in to during lunch periods.

Neighborhood activities during teas are also popular, and are often mentioned as a favorite activity. Teas are times for assigned groups of students to bond and learn, sometimes from special student-led groups on campus like SDLG. This year the SDLGs have discussed the foundations of DEI in a “DEI 101” tea, the “Life’s Blueprint” theme that coincided with the campus’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day workshops, hosted watch parties for documentaries, and covered topics related to socioeconomics in discussions. 

The range of experiences and identities in the group is integral to its success, a sentiment that is echoed from the adult advisors to the student leaders themselves. “We really try to bring everyone in,” says Keya M. ’26. “I think that's the beauty of having a group that is so representative of a variety of backgrounds and perspectives; we really know what the community is looking for because we are in touch with different aspects and facets of it. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is intended to include everybody, and that means everybody.”

The range and number of SDLGs also allows every student on campus to have a connection to the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, not just through the naturally occurring connections students make in their community, but by being a representative in each neighborhood alongside the Proctors (boarding student representatives) and Prefects (representatives for day students). 

The protected training and planning time, alongside the reverence that comes from the red-tier status of these roles, helps the group make their work in the community forward-moving and tangible. “We want people to understand that this work is valuable,” says Ava V. ’26. “We don't just want it to seem like something that we're just doing in name only. We want it to be actually meaningful and take some action.” 

The desire for tangible change is one reason many members joined the group. It is a place to be heard, to enact meaningful change, and to make sure that students have a hand in making and understanding changes at various levels. It’s also important to the group that their activities, guidance, and initiatives are unique to the school itself. “Our role as SDLGs is to make sure that the initiatives put forth are actually productive within our community,” says Abbi P. ’26. “We work to target issues that are really prevalent in our community versus the blanket statements that a lot of institutions use.”

The SDLGs also act as a bridge between the students and other administrative departments in the school. “We keep SDLG and all the students in mind when it comes to initiatives that we need to implement,” says Prince. “Otherwise, we're just adults coming up with what we think is right. But they're living it; these leadership roles give them a voice and a true seat at the table.”

This year, SDLG has implemented student representatives who visit and collaborate with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council (a committee of adults on campus working on similar issues as the student group). But overall, the work of the SDLGs is about learning and talking things through. Emma students are avid learners, and the SDLG group exemplifies that quality. The tone and format of the group is very conversational, allowing students to discuss pressing issues in the community and decide how best to approach them as a group through their established initiatives or by exploring new avenues.  

Associate Director of Equity and Inclusion Gemma Halfi reflects on how they bring their learning into daily life: “It's about what you're learning in the training and then navigating the community as you normally would, but now seeing everything through a new lens. This is a group that helps raise the consciousness of our community to think about how our identities impact who has their voices heard, whose needs are met, and how we can help each other not just survive, but thrive.”

Striving towards thriving is integral to the success of Emma Willard’s students. “If you are a student at a school and you can't show up feeling like you're bringing your full, authentic self to the learning, you're not going to be a good learner,” says Gemma. “It's important to have a group like this because it helps to encourage everybody in the community, adults and students, in understanding how important that is.” 

Over the last few years, language around the work and the acronym of DEI has grown to reflect the more nuanced role it has in school life: DEIJB, now including justice and belonging. It’s not necessarily part of official titles or departments, but the idea of belonging has become a cultural touchstone for the work SDLG is doing; the word comes up frequently in their discussions, and encapsulates the hard work our community is engaging in, as well as the hope that we will continue to be a place for understanding. 

“I think that one of the main aspects of SDLG, as well as just DEI in general, is focusing on creating a space of belonging,” adds Eleanora Bennett ’25. “Through making sure that everyone feels like they have the support they need, they understand each other, they know what's happening in the community and all around the world. [...] I think that's one of the most important parts about SDLG.”

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This piece was written for the Spring/Summer 2025 issue of Signature magazine.