Harwood junior earns a sports leadership role

September 17, 2025  |  By Claire Pomer

Harwood junior Emma Aither. Courtesy photo

Harwood Union Middle/High School is home to multiple sports teams for each season, with more than 200 student-athletes participating each fall through spring. 

One student recently took it a step further, attending the National Federation of State High School Associations’ National Student Leadership Summit in Indianapolis this past July. Harwood junior Emma Aither also will help coordinate the Vermont Principals Association Fall Sports Conference in November. 

Aither, who plays golf in the fall and softball in the spring, applied for the conference in June. Vermont applicants had to create a resume of their leadership experience (along with other extracurricular activities they participate in), tell what they think makes a good leader, and share what they would bring to the conference by attending. 

Aither is a student representative on the Harwood School Board and an active member of two school clubs. In her application, she said: “I felt like I would be a good asset to hear from because I have a lot of experience being flexible in leadership and stepping back [to let] others lead and share the wealth.” Aither was selected as one of five Vermont attendees. 

The conference was held July 13-17 in Indianapolis. It included several icebreaker activities, including a drum circle, and the students worked with Unified Sports, a Special Olympics program that advocates for sports to include disabled students, to learn about their cause and its benefits. 

“It deepened the level of leadership we went into,” Aither said. “Instead of talking at us, it made us engage in what we were doing. It made me feel like I wanted to lead, and I wanted to do to others what the conference did to me.”

Along with the other Vermont students who attended the conference, Aither will help lead the upcoming Vermont Principals Association Fall Sports Conference. Their roles will be as leaders, motivating student attendees to become involved. 

Another goal of the conference was for the student-athletes to apply their newfound skills in their communities. 

Claire Pomer is a senior from Waterbury at Harwood Union High School.