She already demonstrates her leadership skills on a daily basis as a member of The Head Girl Team at Manchester High School for Girls. Now Ghazal Hodhody is heading to The U.S.A. to join a select group of students drawn from across the globe, all of whom have been identified as Future Leaders.

Ghazal, aged 17, came through a tough selection procedure to secure a place on The People to People Future Leaders Summit at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Over 1,000 teenagers from 97 different countries were nominated for the conference which lasts for 10 days, and begins on Wednesday (27 June, 2007).

Delegates had to demonstrate outstanding academic ability, civic involvement and evidence of their leadership skills. During the summit they will unite to plan strategies to improve communities, consistent with the vision of fostering world citizenship, as expressed by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1956.

Ghazal, who lives in Gatley, explained: “This is a wonderful opportunity and provides me with a chance to work alongside people of my age from across the world, and to share our experiences.

“Leadership is something I want to embrace. I think being an effective leader often involves being intuitive, being a confident individual, and being able to inspire confidence in others.

“This particular summit is for people with an interest in medicine, the subject that I hope to study at university. It is a profession where leadership methods are incredibly important and will provide me with an insight into the career I hope to pursue.

“I was one of several people nominated by my School, and was fortunate to progress to the next stage at which point, the assessment criteria became increasingly tough. It was both a delight and a surprised to learn I had been selected, especially as there are just four people from the U.K. who have made it this far,” she said.

Head of Sixth Form at MHSG, Mrs Juliet Miles, said Ghazal’s leadership abilities were already apparent.

“Each September, we take our new Sixth Form girls on a residential to The University of Lancaster, and Ghazal really shone this year with the tasks that her team were given. She has also instigated weekly hockey training sessions for the girls from our Preparatory School, together with her friend Gabi Brown.

“These are just two of many examples that suggest Ghazal has both the talent and aptitude to forge a successful career in medicine, and I am sure she will thoroughly enjoy her time in Baltimore.”