On Tuesday, Nov. 9, Lunch and Lead brought their first guest of the year, Captain Michael Doherty, to the KO campus in honor of Veterans Day to speak at an Upper School assembly and attend lunch with students interested in an extra Q&A.
During the assembly, Captain Doherty talked about what it meant to him to be a veteran and serve our country and shared anecdotes from his professional life that highlighted some of the key characteristics of a leader. Through sharing his experiences as a leader, Captain Doherty emphasized the importance of always believing in yourself and maintaining a positive attitude.
Captain Doherty had a 26-year career in the Navy. During his career, he was a pilot and held critical leadership roles at squadrons, on aircraft carriers, at the Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf, at the Pentagon, and at the Naval Academy Preparatory School. Currently, Captain Doherty works at Raytheon and is in charge of all aspects of the TF33 military engines.
The Lunch and Lead Speaker Series is a program that provides students the opportunity to have conversations with professionals from a variety of backgrounds and careers. Student leaders organize the events which include lunch, as well as an opportunity to pose questions to the featured guest. The guest shares their background, career path, successes, and challenges with students before the Q&A session. This small group setting allows for organic conversations to occur.
Sophomore Lunch and Lead member Nicholas Tippner introduced Captain Doherty at our assembly and thought he was so inspiring and a great speaker. “Through entertaining and compelling stories, he furthered his points and made them relatable,” Nicholas said. “His speech was motivating and inspiring, and it encouraged many, including myself, to strive to become better leaders in our community.”
KO was so fortunate to have Captain Doherty come to campus to share his stories with students and faculty on leadership. He shared that the key to leadership is motivation and encouraged students to never give up, even when things may get hard. He was so inspiring, and hopefully students at KO learned valuable lessons and can become even better leaders!
