About

Kristen Edwards '07 was our guest speaker for our second Excelsior Enrichment Friday Program assembly. Ms. Edwards is a proud SHA alumna and an active volunteer working closely with our Advisory Board and our Alumnae Office.

She is one of the founding members of our Young Alumnae Leadership Council and currently serves as the Chair of this important alumnae volunteer group. To further the Council’s mission, this year, current students were invited to apply to join the Council as senior ambassadors. Four SHA seniors Nicole Ankrah, Beth Convertito, Lillian Torello, and Emma Quaranta were selected, and Ms. Edwards officially inducted them at the start of the program.

In her professional life, upon graduating from Sacred Heart Academy, Ms. Edwards attended Fairfield University majoring in organizational communication. She has also earned a Master's degree in Educational Psychology from Northeastern University. Ms. Edwards has extensive experience in recruiting and leadership training. She began her recruiting career at Enterprise Rent-A-Car and currently leads DEI initiatives for recruiting women and people of color at a global asset management firm. She is really excited and honored to be back at the school that as Ms. Edwards states: "saw her potential long before she ever did!"

As a guiding theme for her talk, Ms. Edwards focused on the 5 Rules of Leadership. She encouraged students to consider how they might already be practicing leadership skills as well as how to better incorporate them into their daily lives. There are a multitude of ways to be a leader, and Ms. Edwards talk encouraged all participants, students and faculty, to find our inner-leader and embrace our potential.

Ms. Edward’s key takeaways on leadership included:

1. Serve others 
2. Keep learning and growing in areas of both choice and skill. 
3. Be good to yourself and share what makes you brilliant (and beautiful). 
4. Choose your environment to align with your values and beliefs. 
5. Trust yourself and embrace opportunities. 

As students actively participated during the assembly Ms. Edwards inspired them to recognize and practice their individual leadership skills.