Senior Sophie Farr Receives Emily Couric Leadership Forum Scholarship

We’re very proud of Tandem Friends senior Sophie Farr, the 2021 Tandem Friends School nominee for The Emily Couric Leadership Scholarship Award, who was recently awarded a $7,000 scholarship from The Emily Couric Leadership Forum. The ten local leadership award finalists (one from each local high school) were honored online on April 14 and in the press and the final winners announced. 

Sophie has been at Tandem since 5th grade, an ever-present leader in academics and athletics. She will be attending Vassar College this fall, where she will also run cross country and track for the school. Here’s what the Leadership Forum’s website shares about her: “Sophie most admires leaders who prioritize teamwork. She has exercised her own ability to collaborate in many roles at Tandem, among them, leader of Friends Council, the Latin Club, and captain of the Cross Country and Track & Field Team. Sophie has competed in the Science Olympiad and Model United Nations and belongs to Tandem’s Feminist Club and Diversity Council. She was awarded Tandem’s Head of School Award as the junior who has contributed the most to the school’s academics, service and extracurriculars. Both Sophie’s confidence and her love of the outdoors have been bolstered by her experience with Outward Bound. She has worked with others to create the Environmental Advocacy Committee which held a Youth Summit to exchange ideas about sustainability. Sophie looks forward to her love of learning, and her interest in environmentalism and science influencing her future endeavors.” Congratulations, Sophie!

Read more about each nominee here. Check out a video shared by The Emily Couric Leadership Forum featuring this year’s nominees here. 

The Emily Couric Leadership Forum "established the Emily Couric Leadership Scholarship to be awarded annually to a senior girl attending any high school in Charlottesville or Albemarle. The goal is to acknowledge and encourage young women in leadership roles in government and the community. Each school is asked to nominate a senior girl who demonstrates leadership in her school and the community. A selection committee comprised of community leaders interviews the nominees and makes the final selection."

The Emily Couric Leadership Forum itself honors the memory of State Senator Emily Couric, who modeled a strong commitment to learning and service. Her many contributions to the community encouraged all women to "adopt an active role in government, public issues, and policy debates affecting their communities, and to inspire young women to pursue activities which will enable them to become effective leaders." The group has awarded over $1M to young women since the scholarships began in 2001, and awarded $106,000 for this 2021 year.