Collaborative Leadership

Senior Group Leaders Arielle “Ellie” Lopina ’26 and Walter Lawrence ’26 take a step back to give their teams space to grow as leaders.

If you’ve attended a Convo this year or watched the morning broadcast on YouTube, you might not easily identify this year’s Senior Group Leaders. That’s exactly how Arielle “Ellie” Lopina ’26 and Walter Lawrence ’26 prefer it. Named Senior Group Leaders of their respective divisions in July, Ellie and Walter are stepping back to give more student-leaders space to grow and take ownership of their roles and responsibilities. 

“A big thing this year is putting the emphasis back on Group Leaders,” said Walter. “We want to step back from being in the spotlight all the time, which is definitely a big change from what I’ve seen in the last several years.”

“I don’t want to have to talk as much,” explained Ellie, on how she’s approaching the top leadership post in the Girls Prep Division. “When it comes to uniforms, putting your hand up at Convo and having everyone stop talking and cooperate, that shouldn’t come from my voice. That should come from the Group Leaders’ voices.”

The duo also prioritized building bonds of communication and community between their respective Divisions. “We are co-institutional, but we are still one community at the end of the day,” said Walter. “We rise together, we fall together,” said Ellie, turning to her counterpart. “If he’s hurt, I’m hurt. If he’s happy, I’m happy. That’s the foundation of community.”

Here’s more background on the 2025-26 Senior Group Leaders and their path to leadership:

Connections to Benedict’s run deep. Walter went to school on the Property since kindergarten, when the Elementary Division was St. Mary School. “I’d been here so long, I wanted to leave for high school,” he admitted. Walter’s mom convinced him to stay. “See where it goes,” she advised. “I was mad at first,” remembered Walter, “But it worked out and I’m really glad I stayed.”

Ellie grew up on the Property. Her dad is Director of Technology Dexter Lopina ’98. Brother, Ethan ’24, as well as uncles and cousins, are all graduates of The Hive. She spent many summers as a youngster navigating her way around the Property and remembers how it felt to discover the top of Shanley Gymnasium. “It was so cool,” Ellie recalled. “That and learning to swim in the HAB pool are my most relevant memories.”

Pivotal moments shaped their path to leadership. “Being a freshman meant so much to me,” said Ellie. “It shaped a lot of who I became, so I wanted to be someone who could impact the incoming freshmen.” She became a Freshman Counselor and demonstrated leadership by giving back to the School as a member of the Admissions Team and as a Fr. Mark Payne Institute fellow.

Walter was encouraged to apply for a leadership position when he was a student in the Middle Division. “I didn’t apply for anything because I didn’t see myself as a leader,” he recalled. “But part of me still expected to get it.” When the Group Leaders for the Middle Division were announced and Walter wasn’t named a leader, “I was mad at myself because I said no to it. I realized I was ruining stuff for myself. Freshman year, I worked hard to become a counselor as a UDI and just kept going.”

Outside of leadership, Walter plays water polo and is a member of Gray Bee Investors and the Admissions Team. He attended a pre-college program for business at Stevens Institute of Technology last summer. Ellie co-captains the volleyball team. She completed a pre-college summer program at NYU. In addition to Senior Group Leaders, students named to the 2025-26 Senior Leadership Team include:

FRESHMAN LEADERS
Cristian Riche ’26 and Sophia De Matas ’26

CHIEF OF STAFF
Caleb Torres ’26

TRANSFER LEADERS
Miguel De La Cruz ’26 and Allyson Torres-Sarango ’26

BOYS AND GIRLS SECTION

Maroon
Michael Fazio ’26

Blue
K’Dorrius Forde ’26

White
Jibreel Sankar ’26

Grey
Sirron Norris ’26

Garnet
Camila Calle ’26

Black
Rebecca Miranda ’26

GROUP LEADERS

Joe Kasberger  
Ayman Zare ’26

Prof Blood 
Brayan Hernandez ’26

Jim Cavanaugh 
Jordi Morales ’26

John Ford 
Evan Pereira ’26

Fr. John Doyle  
Giacomo Gallo ’26

Fr. Boniface Reger 
Brandon Quezada ’26

Fr. Dunstan Smith
Jonathan Tyler ’26

Fr. Casimir Findley  
Evan Gomes ’26

Fr. Valerian Kanetzki
Jonathan Polo ’26

Fr. William Koelhoefer 
Alejandro Cortez ’26

Fr. Thomas Long 
Fela Barzey ’26

Fr. Timothy Dwyer 
John Martinko ’26

Fr. Celestine Staab 
Kodjo Sodatonou ’26

Fr. Cornelius Selhuber 
Za'Myr Lyons ’26

Fr. Eugene Schwarz 
Jonathan Kurus ’26

Fr. Philip Hoover 
Lemuel Lewis ’26

Fr. Bernard Peters 
Asar Culver ’26

Frank Hill
Nigel Williams ’26

Katherine Thornton 
Emily Ramos ’26

Betty Edelen
Xaria Powell-Poole ’26

Pearl Coleman 
Kalani Durham ’26

Rosemary Anderson 
Essence Hogue ’26

Regina Blackwell 
Jayla-Simone John ’26

Sister Mary Downey 
Victoria Melchor-Lopez ’26