New Students Selected for Olympia Snowe Leadership Institute

Class of 2026 students selected for the Olympia Snowe Leadership Program

By Khloe Luce ‘26

Special from the Lincoln Academy Eagle’s Talon

Lincoln Academy is excited to announce that five more freshman girls have been selected for the Olympia Snowe Leadership Institute. The institute is a program that strives to help young women become leaders and gain skills such as strength and confidence that will benefit them throughout their lives.

Former Senator Olympia Snowe started the institute in 2012 when she noticed that young girls have a more significant drop in confidence than boys when entering high school. She started the institute with the idea of helping these girls figure out who they are as individuals.

Junior Olympia Snowe Leadership participant Violet Bailey ‘24 said, “The program is really about inner growth. When you are encouraged to support and connect with these young women on a level bigger than the classroom and school environment, you gain an incredible emotional intelligence.”

The program takes place from sophomore to senior year. Each year there are monthly meetings for the girls to attend, and with that comes assignments to complete in between meetings. If the girls do everything that is expected of them, they are eligible to earn badges for each year of the institute. In total, they could potentially get three college credits, which is equal to one college course. The program takes place at Lincoln Academy during the school day.

In addition, there are also two events in the year that involve leaving the campus. In the fall, there is a forum which entails a large meeting with all of the Olympia Snowe girls. They come together to listen to special guest speakers and then are split up into groups to meet everyone from the different schools that are active in the program. In the spring, there is a celebration held to honor and celebrate the girls and do some more interactive activities to gain knowledge about one another.
The new selections are ninth graders Mercy Buchwalder, Karina Phipps, Trinity Delaney, Eleri Jordan, and Khloe Luce. They are all very new to Olympia Snowe but are excited to learn some new skills and branch out to meet new people.

Ms. Duffy said, “I am incredibly proud of the girls who have been in the program and have just been nominated. I think it is a wonderful opportunity and I’m so glad that Lincoln is able to offer this program!”

The Institute is an awesome opportunity for young women all around the state. Lincoln Academy is thrilled that some of the young women in our community are fortunate enough to be selected for it and cannot wait to see how it helps shape these young women into who they will become.

Khloe Luce ‘26 is one of the selected girls for the program. She is beyond excited to gain strength, confidence, intelligence, and other leadership skills that the program presents.