or almost 175 years, SEM has been a leader in girls' education. SEM is Western New York's only non-sectarian all-girls school, founded in 1851, when the definition of the word "seminary" was associated with educational opportunities for women during a growing trend toward women's equality. Since the school's inception, SEM's mission, to prepare a diverse group of young women to be engaged scholars and citizens, proud to shape society rather than be controlled by it, and ready to live and lead with honor, courage, and confidence, has been demonstrated by thousands of remarkable alumnae.