Students who hope to become the leaders of tomorrow are kickstarting their journey with LEADStrong. The program had its opening workshop in Grace Hall on Friday, Sept. 13. LEADStrong’s mission is to prepare students to become socially responsible leaders within diverse communities. Students regardless of experience have the chance to discover their strengths, hone in on them and take the upper hand when it comes to competition of jobs.
The day started with a discussion on teamwork from Anne Filippone, chair of the LEADStrong Committee. She continued by explaining the social change model, which enforces the ideas of group, community and individual values. Students agreed with the model and the idea that teamwork needs to start with a common purpose and follow through with a group commitment.
Soon after, members divided into group sessions with staff mentors. The group activities were aimed to find students strengths and weaknesses as well as goals they have while in the program. Evan Guinessy, freshman education major, discovered LEADStrong through the Involvement Fair and hopes to build his time management and teamwork skills. Charlie Platia, senior graphic design major, said, “I hope my participation will help me look at things from a different point of view and help be more aware of differences in leadership styles.”
After the individual group meetings finished, the event transitioned to dinner with reflections and what the next steps would be. Returning member Danielle Kane said, “Joining LEADStrong was one of the best decisions I made at Cabrini.” She also added, “I’ve learned what it means to be a leader and how people have different ways of being a leader.”
After dinner, junior math major Shawn Friel addressed the group about his time participating in LEADStrong. Friel said, “This program opened my eyes to how much I didn’t know about being a leader.” The program helped him find out about leadership as Friel is heavily involved in CAP Board and the Relay for Life Committee.
Staff mentor Richie Gebauer closed the day with an entire group process. Members discussed that they had learned a lot in a little under three hours. When asked about his thoughts on the day he said, “I think we had a really great turnout and it’s a perfect example of leadership that is offered across campus.”
Discussing the program as a whole, Anne Filippone said, “Leadership is important in any field you go into.” She continued by adding, “There are a lot of valuable skills that any student will learn if they come into LEADStrong.” When asked what her favorite part of overseeing LEADStrong was she answered, “The students in the program are really great. Students come from all over campus to grow and develop themselves as a leader.”
