In job interviews or college admissions, superiors search for leadership qualities in their applicants. However, already in high school, the faculty at Oak Park and River Forest High School has taken notice of senior Hailey Boland.
“She’s a leader of leaders,” says Rahasad Singletary, a sponsor of Best Buddies, a club dedicated to building relationships with people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Boland assumed two new leadership positions this year, as a co-president of Best Buddies and one of the new girls’ swim team captains. She is also part of the leadership program, in which upperclassmen mentor freshmen.
Leadership is an important priority for Boland. “I feel really strongly about it,” she said. “I think that to get people to join a club or want to be part of a community, someone has to be a good role model for everyone. If you don’t have a good role model for any activity that you do… if there’s not someone that you can’t look up to, then it’s hard to feel really part of that community.”
When last year’s Best Buddies board was interviewing applicants to take on vacant roles, Singletary said, “They just knew Hailey was perfect for the job.”
Part of being an effective leader is setting priorities. Boland said she made a deliberate choice not to apply for a leadership position for another club due to her commitment to Best Buddies. “I wanted to give that my all. I really needed the time to be able to come up with these events, and there are a lot of things that go on.”
In their biweekly meetings, Boland makes it a priority to highlight inclusivity. She says that the goal of Best Buddies is to foster an environment where everyone is included.
“I want to be as inclusive as possible. If I see someone that maybe is not included in the activity, I will literally be like ‘Come over here. You’re going to be included. I want to make sure that everyone is seen and heard in the club or at swim team. I want to make sure that everyone feels like they’re in the community,” Boland said..
This year has given Boland an opportunity to test that principle as the club has seen an increase in membership, reaching 180 people. Some club members are assigned “buddies” with whom they build one-to-one friendships. Organizing 36 of these matches and the club’s events is where Boland’s practical qualities and organizational skills come into play. “She’s probably the most organized person I’ve ever been around,” said Singletary. “She makes my job so much easier. She is on top of it.”
Her swim team co-captain partner, senior Avaa Ruffer, attests to this same attribute, “She’s also really organized,” Ruffer said. “She’s incredibly loyal and incredibly reliable, and she wants you to succeed. She’ll do whatever she can to help do it. Whatever problem that you have, even if it’s something completely out of her ballpark, she’ll try her best to give advice and everything.”
Although she is practically helpful, according to her peer and sponsor, Boland’s personal skills are what make her an especially memorable leader at our school. “She’s special. She is someone who I will remember forever,” said Singletary. ”When I think about future students…I feel like I’m getting choked up talking about it, but when I think about future students I have, I think I’ll always relate it back to when Hailey was here.”
He added, “I have a daughter, and if my daughter grows to be anything like Hailey, I know I did a good job as a father.”
For Boland, leadership activities aren’t just something to put on a college resume. They represent a direction for her future. “[For] every college that I apply to, I make sure that they have a Best Buddies program,” she said. “I want a club swim and a Best Buddies program. This is who I am. I want to be a part of these activities still.”
