Rachel Scott, the senior congressional correspondent for ABC News, will deliver the keynote address at the Boston College Summit conference on Feb. 1.
Formerly known as the Women’s Summit, the annual event is sponsored by the Women’s Center. It was renamed this year to focus on intersectionality and promote self-awareness, according to its website.
“Summit is for everyone—no matter how you identify,” said Kayla Edwards, a Women’s Center graduate assistant and LGSOE ’26.
Scott extensively covered the 2024 Republican primaries and President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign. Her past work reporting on the effects of the Roe v. Wade decision earned her recognition from the Peabody Awards program.
In 2020, Scott was on the ground covering the protests sweeping the nation regarding police brutality and COVID-19’s effects on communities of color. Scott also covered key stories on Capitol Hill, including Trump’s second impeachment trial and confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Ketanji Brown Jackson.
In 2021, she won a Peabody Award for her work on ABC Nightline, and in 2023, she and anchor Diane Sawyer earned a nomination for Impact x Nightline’s “On the Brink.”
One reason Scott was selected for the keynote address was her ability to connect with diverse communities, said Ava Estrada, a member of the summit planning committee and MCAS ’27.
“She is just such a force, but her commencement address will mostly be about the power of failure,” Estrada said. “So I think now that we are more focused on this intersectionality, I think she is such a way to bring this to light.”
Edwards explained that one factor in the decision to rebrand the conference was potential scheduling conflicts with other conferences, like the AHANA Summit and Leadership Day, which also take place in February.
“It was just a lot for people to give up all that time,” Edwards said. “Another thing is just that it makes sense. Why go to one of these things when they all affect each other and you’re all learning about the same stuff anyway?”
According to Estrada, the summit will focus on the intersection of leadership and self-identity.
“I think it’s really important that we focus on identity, your self-identity, your background, who you are as a person, [and] what you bring to the table,” Estrada said.
Candice Duncan, MCAS ’26 and another member of the planning committee, said that in addition to the current political climate, the planning committee also wanted Scott to speak because she has experience navigating multiple identities.
“Getting to know her journey more, and why she’s in the field that she’s in, how she’s able to go about different identities and navigate the challenges,” Duncan said.
In addition to Scott’s keynote address, the summit will feature several different workshops, with topics ranging from sustainability to life after BC.
The summit will also host two mainstage panels titled “Lifelong Eagles: Alumni Stories of Service and Success” and “A Capstone in an Hour.”
The conference will conclude with an address from Sarah Kay, founder and co-director of Project VOICE, a program that uses poetry to educate students of all ages and backgrounds.
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