Cardigan Mountain School A boarding and day school for boys in grades 6 through 9
Student Leaders
 

Student Leaders

Elected by the community, Cardigan’s student leaders have a direct impact on the School every year. There’s the fun stuff, like helping the head of school announce Headmaster’s Days; and there’s the serious stuff, like participating in disciplinary hearings. But perhaps the most important lessons in leadership occur in the students’ daily routines and activities, when both titled and untitled leaders work with their classmates and teachers as part of the Cardigan community. We took the time to talk with Cardigan’s 2020-21 school leader and assistant school leader to get their perspective.


School Leader: Conley Bohan ’21
Conley is in his second year at Cardigan. He originally became interested in Cardigan for its hockey program. Later he saw the benefit of attending Cardigan before transitioning to a high school boarding school.

Assistant School Leader: Heesung “Daniel” Jung ’21
Daniel came to Cardigan in seventh grade, following his brother Heewoo Jung ’20, who was also the assistant student leader when he was a student. Daniel chose to attend Cardigan to be with his friends who were already in attendance and saw it as an opportunity to learn to live more independently.

Q: What led you to seek election as a leader at Cardigan?

Conley: Last year, many of my role models were student leaders. You could feel their presence when they walked into a room––their moral compass, the care they modeled for their classmates, their ability to lead by example rather than force. I wanted to have a similar impact on my classmates and on Cardigan.

Daniel: During my first year, I was completely lost because English is my second language. But all the leaders helped me get through all those difficulties and I really appreciated it. I wanted to give back to all the students.

Q: Did you feel that there were opportunities for you to learn to lead before you became a school leader?

Conley: Athletics is a big thing. Oftentimes it doesn’t matter what grade you’re in or if you are the best player on the team; it just comes down to who you are and what impact you have in the locker room. Dorm life also gives you plenty of opportunities to practice leadership, especially in prior years when dorms were mixed and not just based on grade level; you could be an underclassman and still have an influence.

Daniel: Sit-down meals are a really good opportunity to help others. Subbing for waiters or subbing for certain other jobs are great opportunities. Last year I also helped dorm leaders to get jobs done and make our dorm a better place.

Student Leaders during an outdoors Chapel service

Q: Has your view of leadership changed?

Conley: Definitely. Before this year, I had an ideal picture of what a leader is. I was looking up to all the ninth-grade leaders, and I was hoping I would be in their shoes. But coming into this year and having to adapt to all these new things, leadership has taken on a completely different meaning––some positive, some negative. A good leader has to be able adapt to those changes.

Daniel: For me, not really. I’ve known how hard the leaders work from watching them the last three years. I’m just trying to be like them.

Q: What has surprised you about being a student leader?

Conley: Coming to Cardigan I didn’t really know what to expect. Like I said, when I got to Cardigan, I had all these role models that I looked up to. Now that I am in their position, I understand how important it is to not be thinking about myself. This year, I am in a sixth-grade dorm and the boys need a lot of help. Sometimes I have to work late because I’ve been helping them throughout the day and I haven’t had time to do my own homework.

Daniel: I’ve had to challenge myself. Conley and I had to make an announcement in front of the whole school. And for me that was really challenging because I am not a vocal person.

Q: What is the most important skill that a leader needs to have?

Daniel: Listening. To help people and make a better community, I believe you have to listen to all the voices.

Conley: I think it’s crucial to have courage. If you are ever in a situation where the community bond isn’t there, you have to have the courage to step up and do the right thing and put yourself in someone else’s shoes. It comes down to who can bring the student body together and who can make Cardigan more a positive place.
 

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Early morning view of Cardigan's campus

FROM THE EDITOR: When I look back over the many months it takes to produce an issue of the Chronicle, and I think about the countless conversations I have with the people in this community, there are always details that overlap unexpectedly, adding surprising nuances and subtleties to the stories within each magazine; history repeats itself, characters long forgotten resurface, faces in archival photographs look eerily similar to faces in the present.

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