Stoneleigh-Burnham School junior McKim Jean-Pierre has been selected to receive a full, merit-based scholarship to attend an intensive summer leadership training program in South Africa. McKim was one of 15 students selected from 200 applicants for the highly competitive Experiment Leadership Institute, a program of The Experiment in International Living (EIL).

McKim is an International Baccalaureate diploma candidate at SBS, which is the first and only girls’ school in New England to offer this academically rigorous, interdisciplinary curriculum. McKim is excited to continue to grow as a leader through her first trip abroad. She said, “I will be able to contribute multicultural ideas and solutions in an open manner that is thoughtful, analytical, and respectful, as well as contribute positive encouragement for new cultural opportunities. The reason I can do this is because of SBS. At Stoneleigh, I have really found my voice.”

Four days of intensive training in Washington D.C. will be followed by four weeks in South Africa, visiting Johannesburg, Drakensburg, Cato Manor, and Amacabini. Upon her return to the United States, McKim will spend three days on EIL’s School for International Training campus in Brattleboro, Vt., for synthesis sessions, briefings, a re-entry workshop, and brainstorming sessions on a post-program project.

SBS French teacher Miriam Przybyla-Baum said McKim has become one of SBS’s best role models as a leader due to her strong work ethic, self-reliance, and helpfulness. “When McKim speaks, girls listen to her because they respect her. There is a drive in her to help others, and she recognizes cultural, religious, and socio-economic differences. She has taught her peers concepts like gratitude, empathy, and trust.”