The concept of leadership so often evokes ideas of great orations, grand and dramatic gestures—a certain conspicuousness. But there are other equally compelling and effective ways to be a leader. An integral member of the IMS community, we have in our midst one who leads us toward the better path, sometimes the road less traveled, but the enriching and enlightening route that we all ought to seek.

Her command of all forms of communication evinces a ken and wit that she regularly employs to elevate all discourse. She is a precocious writer. An example: in what for her is a routine display of clarity and command of prose as well as a perspicacious understanding of a literature, she wrote of the fictional Victor Frankenstein: “…he is condemned by his own intelligence.” Her own intellect is as liberating and cathartic to her as it is damning to our Victor. How privileged are we to bear witness to her work?
No less impressive is her acumen in other, even less-empirical, domains. She is quiet, humble, yet filled with strength and conviction. Her work with Middle School students reveals her magnanimity, altruism, and kindness. No different, though, is her work as a conduit between the student-faculty, adolescence-adult realms. She passes with grace through these perceived boundaries, providing guidance and encouragement to everyone as adroitly as she does her charge of Middle School students.

She has given us eleven years of her charm, kindness, and quiet leadership. From Pre-K through 9th grade, and now, in a cyclic return to her roots as a Mentor, she has enlivened the Indian Mountain School with her grace, charm, and leadership. The faculty is delighted to award Ellie Stewart our school’s highest honor: The Mountain Card.