Sleeping in is never an option for student leaders.
The First Annual Student Leadership Summit was held on Friday, Oct. 10, better recognized as the dean’s fall holiday. This enabled busy student leaders to earn the LEADStrong points they had been striving for or to discover ways to better their leadership roles in clubs with little conflict from their typically busy schedules.
“It would be smart for us to provide opportunities for student leaders,” Anne Filippone, director of the student engagement and leadership office, said in her welcome address.
Dedicated students participated in up to five different classes that were offered as part of the LEADStrong program on campus starting at 9 a.m. and learning throughout the day until 4 p.m. They were able to earn up to six points towards their participation in the program. The goal of the program is to enable students to strengthen their abilities and learn to grow as a socially responsible competitor in the world.
The idea for the event came over the summer when Filippone and Amber LaJeunesse, assistant director for the student engagement and leadership office, discovered that students wanted more opportunities for LEADStrong events.
Some students were not even part of LEADStrong but wished to better their abilities as leaders on campus. They participated in the hopes of learning about themselves and being a leader in order to better their work in leadership positions.
“I just hope to learn to be better prepared to lead my club,” Alicia Ireland, president of Culture Shock, said in regards to the event.
The class “What do You Mean I Can’t Do Everything?” led by LaJeunesse was among those that Ireland attended. It involved taking time to think about how every minute in an average week is spent doing anything, something that became a daunting task for Ireland, who is working on a double major in mathematics and secondary education along with a double minor in social justice and psychology, while participating in 12 clubs and working two jobs.
“I want to be able to know myself better because I’ve had trouble trying to figure out what I want in life,” Ireland said.
She was not the only student seeking to better their leadership skills and hone in on how best to apply her determination. Kellie Fusco, a senior history major, was among the members of LEADStrong participating in the event and also attended the “What do You Mean I Can’t Do Everything?” workshop. For her, the day was about bettering herself as a person and learning to become a teacher.
During lunch, Filippone and LaJeunesse expressed their excitement over the turnout and amount of participation the students had shown in the first few classes.
“This is the start of making sure leaders on campus learn how to be strong leaders,” LaJeunesse said.
