Lean In hosted a Leadership Game Night for third to fifth graders at Ms. Wang’s room on Jan. 23. The lunch club’s inaugural event empowered youngsters to grow their leadership skills through hands-on activities. 

Rather than boring lectures, Lean In prepared interactive activities such as Jeopardy, bingo games, creative coloring and writing exercises to enhance the learning of elementary students. “Why don’t we show these ideas and showcase this information in fun and creative ways?” said senior Niha Banerjee, president of Lean In.

The club members organized the event based on their core idea: to challenge gender stereotypes and support equality. After the night, organizers hoped participants would leave with innovative ideas to change the world as future leaders. “I hope the kids learn a lot from this event, have an idea, and the courage to make a change in the future and become the future leaders,” said Banerjee. 

Some joined with aligned objectives with Lean In’s focus for the night. “I decided to join this event because it sounded fun, and I also thought that I could learn more about leadership,” fifth grader Louise Marechal said. 

Alongside students with pure interest, youngsters that joined forcefully still ended up enjoying the night. “I first joined because of my mom, but I realized that I want to keep doing activities like this,” said third grader Ben Lee.

Besides learning, participants loved the competitive spirit of all the activities presented. “I liked it when we got the answer from the jeopardy,” said Lee. 

At the end of the day, attendees left the door with new perspectives on gender biases. “I learned about this stereotype about how not only one person can do not only. One gender can do something, but all genders can have the same thing, and like all colors,” said Marechal. 

As the night sparked new ideas, some students began imagining creative additions for future events. “We could have an activity where we write what we think leadership is and then see which one is correct, and have some fun with leadership,” said Marechal. 

With leadership at the heart of the event, high school organizers encouraged their younger peers to pursue both small and big change. “You don’t need age or fame to start the change. You have to be brave enough for it. And there are so many different forms of leadership that we don’t know,” said Banerjee.