WILMA’s Future Leaders
Meet the 2024 group of achieving teens
The group of twelve 11th graders from area schools was selected through a competitive application process. Throughout the year, the students will work with their mentors and be invited to WILMA’s Women to Watch Leadership Initiative events.
Read about this year’s class members and what leadership looks like and means to them in their own words.
MORE INFO: wilmamag.com/women-to-watch
Sophie Aponte
Laney High School
“I look up to my AP chemistry teacher as a leader. He is great at teaching the complex AP material in a way that is easy to understand. He tells us about his days working as a chemist in a lab. He inspires me to pursue a chemistry-related field.”
Neeka Brill
Hoggard High School
“One goal that I have that I hope to work on this year as a WILMA’s Future Leader is finding more ways to help out around the community. I plan to volunteer with local organizations, meet fellow leaders, and broaden my perspective.”
Alyssa Corey
Girls Leadership Academy of Wilmington
“Leadership to me means having clear communication to your peers. Leaders are inspiring yet they motivate others by putting others on the right track. Anyone can be a leader, any adult, any child, anyone who has a purposeful and influential mindset. When you have leadership, you may guide others to be effective and open minded. Empowering others is a good trait to have and develop throughout your life and is very beneficial.”
Cleo Daschbach
New Hanover High School
“Leadership to me is not just about guiding others, but also about learning how to lift up my community. It’s about recognizing the strengths and needs of those around me and working together to create positive change.”
Jaida Dorsey
Wilmington Early College High School
“A leader that I look up to is my boss, Tywanna Miller. Typically, leaders are just seen as someone who can effectively command a group of people, but she has the ability to make you passionate about not only your work but your goals all while preaching the importance of self-care.”
Melanie Guillermo-De Jesus
Laney High School
“Leadership to me means our youth. Our youth are today’s change-makers. A good leader is an individual who will be fair, take action boldly, and isn’t afraid to create a brighter future for their community regardless of age.”
Ava McNeely
Hoggard High School
“To me, leadership means taking initiative and putting my best self forward as well as encouraging and supporting others around me to reach their goals. One goal I want to work on during my year as a WILMA’s Future Leader is building connections with people within my realm of career interest that turn into meaningful relationships.”
Maia Ortiz
Isaac Bear Early College High School
“As a WILMA’s Future Leader, I want to explore more career options and learn more about the kinds of jobs I may be interested in in the future. Through exploring these different careers, I would like to network and meet new people.”
Estefania Perez Posadas
Career Readiness Academy at Mosley
“For me leadership means to have the capacity of influencing someone’s vision by passion and inspiration, by kindness and respect, and that’s why I’m so excited about The WILMA’s Future Leader program. I know I can achieve my leadership skills, and I know people can influence me by this opportunity.”
Emily Powell
Cape Fear Academy
“To me, leadership is the ability to take charge of a situation no matter what it is or who is involved, listen to different perspectives, and effectively guide the group toward a solution. A leader must be able to communicate, make decisions, and most importantly, collaborate with the rest of the team.”
Maya Roseboro
Isaac Bear Early College High School
“Leadership is failure and resilience – leadership is the ability to fail forward. Any leader can be successful, but excellent leaders are made stronger through their failures, and the best leaders are able to nurture aspirations and cultivate confidence in other growing leaders.”
Finley Rountree
Ashley High School
“Leadership is teamwork, collaboration, hard work, honesty, and integrity. It is what pushes me to be the best version of myself while being someone for others to look up to. Strong leadership helps to build relationships, uses motivation to be successful, and brings people together towards a common goal.”
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