Maria Regina and Stepinac High School Students to Participate in Internationally Renowned Foroige Leadership for Life Conference in Ireland

Maria Regina High School and Stepinac High School, respectively the renowned all-girls and all-boys Catholic secondary schools, today announced that contingents of their students will participate in the internationally acclaimed Foroige Leadership for Life Conference, to be held August 2-6, at Maynooth University, Ireland.

This will be the first time that Maria Regina and Stepinac students will attend the Foroige Conference, a unique learning opportunity for young people to develop the skills and attributes of strong leadership.  

They will also be among a select group of about 200 students from around the globe world who, over the course of five days, will be immersed in the meaning and practice of leadership, drawing inspiration from speakers in a wide range of fields –business, philanthropy, media and sports—who will share their own personal leadership journeys.

Anna Parra, Maria Regina President and Paul Carty, Stepinac Principal, noted that the mission of Foroige, a leading youth organization in Ireland that was established in 1952, is a mirror image of their schools’ shared mission to shape young women and men to become tomorrow’s leaders in their careers and in their communities. 

Parra said that the Conference “will reinforce for our students the importance of taking responsibility for themselves and the need to take an active role in improving society while setting an example for others to follow.” 

Carty added: “At a time in our society when leadership in all walks of life has been called into question, the inspiring personal accounts by the speakers will re-dedicate our students’ resolve to fulfill the meaning of leadership throughout their lives.” 

The Maria Regina group will include seven seniors: Shannon Blake, Catilin Carey, Neive Connaughton, Tegan Hanniffy, Jolene Harvey and Siena O’Brien—all from Yonkers and Lauren Spillane of Tuckahoe. They will be accompanied by Silvia Santo, Assistant Principal, who will serve as moderator.  Catherine Flood, former chair of Maria Regina’s Board and mother of Siena O’Brien, has been an active supporter of the school’s participation in the Conference.

Stepinac is sending 11 seniors to the session. They are: Ryan Bailie, Yonkers; Michael Buckley, Yonkers; Seamus Collum, Yonkers; Donal Connaughton, Yonkers; Jack Donohoe, Bronx; John Flynn, Yonkers; Matthew Gallagher, Yonkers; Christopher Kennedy, Bronxville; Eoghan O’Sullivan, Yonkers; Ryan Scanlon, Yonkers and Aaron Traynor, Bronx. Carty will journey with them and serve as moderator. 

For more information, visit www.mariaregina.org and visit www.Stepinac.org.