Southampton Student Earns RYLA Senior Leader Award

Southampton High School senior Emma Vail was recently awarded for her work as a Senior Leader for the Rotary Youth Leadership Association District 7255 program.

RYLA District 7255 is a student-run and operated program for over 200 high school students that focuses on leadership and character development to foster fundamental growth in order to create better world leaders for tomorrow.

Vail attended RYLA as a sophomore and served as a Facilitator in her junior year and a Senior Leader in her senior year.

As a Senior Leader, Vail worked year-round with the youth committee to help run RYLA events and programming, including weeklong conferences and weekend retreats, for which she facilitated discussions on diversity, integrity, service and unity.

When not working with RYLA, Vail participates in numerous school activities. She is a member of her school’s National, Spanish and Tri-M Music honor societies and is an AP Scholar with Honor, as well as a National Merit Commended Scholar. In addition, she is a member of her school’s Environmental Club, Multicultural Club and mock trial team and plays violin in the pit orchestra.

A well-rounded athlete, Vail serves as co-captain of the girls varsity soccer team and earned an Academic All-County award for the sport. She is also a member of the girls varsity golf and girls varsity winter track teams.

Along with these extracurriculars, Vail has been an assistant teacher of English as a second language through Eastern Suffolk BOCES for the past several years. 

She will be attending Dartmouth University in the fall to study English on a pre-law track.

The Southampton School District extends its congratulations  to Vail on her impressive accomplishments.