Launching Leaders: How RPCS Prepares Grads for Life After RPCS

At Roland Park Country School, we always love hearing from our alumnae and were thrilled to welcome five young graduates back last week to meet virtually with prospective students and their families for our second annual “Launching Leaders: Life After RPCS” event. The evening featured panel presentations with alumnae who graduated between 2015 and 2020, current students, parents and the College Counseling team to share how RPCS prepares its students for happy and successful lives filled with purpose. Each graduate spoke about how their lives have unfolded since walking the halls of RPCS and explained how the supportive environment of the school, the encouragement to live authentically and their strong relationships with their teachers helped them succeed well beyond graduation. 

 

Prabhnoor Kaur, 2018, a junior at the University of Pennsylvania who is majoring in neuroscience, spoke about the safe space RPCS created for students, which personally encouraged her to pursue her passions, dance and STEM, and explore new interests. “I never felt afraid to try something new. RPCS really teaches its students ‘Why not?’ Go for it!” Prabhnoor has carried this motto in college, which has given her a certain fearlessness and she often asks herself “Why not? What’s stopping me? RPCS has really given me this attitude in life and it’s something that sticks.”

 

“I am the person who I am today – the advocate, the co-worker, the student, the friend I am today – because of RPCS,” Grace Laria, 2015, told the audience. A graduate of Georgetown University, Grace now works as a Bilingual Community Health Worker/Contact Tracer with the Baltimore City Health Department and a part-time Communications Assistant with an immigration legal services organization called Santa Fe Dreamers Project. Grace credits her close relationships with her teachers and advisors for inspiring her to become a strong student and active in her community, which also built her confidence. “RPCS encouraged students to shine, share experiences, try really hard and take up space,” Grace said.

 

Ajée Robinson, 2019, discovered her passion for service as a freshman at RPCS, when she first became involved with Bridges, an after-school program and summer camp at the Gilman School that provides mentorship to students from Baltimore schools that are under resourced. As this work became a huge part of her high school years, Ajée knew she wanted to continue her commitment to service after graduation and her college counselor Sally Diehl helped her find schools where she continue to help others. In her freshman year at Villanova University, Ajée started an organization to serve Philadelphia children. Now a sophomore majoring in Sociology with a double minor in Political Science and Criminology and a Presidential Scholar, Ajée is also secretary of the Pre-Law Black Law Student Association, and is still committed to working with many organizations that give direct support and help to Philadelphia youth who are under resourced. And she continues to work as a summer camp head counselor at Bridges. “The program changed how I view activism and service. It’s something that has stuck with me throughout college,” Ajée said. “It really has changed my life…and it has definitely propelled my interest in the field of law.”
 

For Berit Ginsberg, 2017, the skills she learned at RPCS helped her feel well-prepared for college when she first started at Northwestern University, where she will graduate this spring with a degree in Communications Studies and a minor in Psychology. “I knew how to write a strong paper, how to give a persuasive speech and how to advocate for myself,” she said. Berit also credits RPCS with helping her find her passion in the fine arts and identifying her strengths and areas for growth to help her as she figured out what she wanted to pursue for a career. Berit is currently interning at Chicago Filmmakers and also worked as a producer for a College Emmy award-winning late-night variety show on campus.

 

 

Margaux Miller, 2020, one of our most recent graduates and a recipient of a Foreign Language Certificate, spoke about how RPCS cultivated her love of languages and encouraged her to study two languages, Russian and French. Now a freshman at Wake Forest University, Margaux is a President Scholar for Distinguished Achievement in Dance and is continuing her studies in both languages. “Now that I’m in college, I am seeing how unique this is…RPCS has given me every opportunity and it’s been amazing to be part of both the French and Russian departments.” Margaux hopes to use both Russian and French when she pursues a career in government security work.

 

 

Please enjoy watching our incredible alumnae share their stories with Megan Johnston, Associate Director of College Counseling.