A CULTURE OF LEADERSHIP
(Distributing food on MLK Day of Service)
For those of you who worry about the future, I wish you had been with us last week at our College’s April Board of Trustees meeting.
If you had been there, you would have witnessed an impressive group of young people whose visions and commitment to their community makes me confident that we’re developing a great new generation of leaders.
And this is not by chance. Leadership and service learning are cornerstones of the College’s strategic plan.
The students who presented last week are part of a program known as the Student Pathways Leadership Institute (SPLI) – one of several leadership programs integrated deliberately into our curriculum. Over the past year, these students took a close look at the challenges our community faces and developed sophisticated solutions – initiatives that take on real-life problems like bullying, nutrition, truancy, and animal welfare.
(Mentoring at-risk 8th graders to become future leaders)
These are serious, well-conceived programs with solid business plans and metrics for assessing results.
As I watched their presentations, I also watched the Trustees and the look of satisfaction on their faces. “These kids get it,” they were likely thinking. They “get” that the future of our community will be in their hands soon.
And that’s why our College puts so much emphasis on leadership and service learning, in and out of the classroom.
In the past year we’ve sent hundreds of volunteers out into the community to do service work, and we’ve hosted many community members here on campus for educational programs. For Earth Day, our “Second Nature” club invited 70 second graders from the Dane Barse school to plant seeds and trees and learn about the environment. Our nursing students hold flu clinics and health fairs throughout the year. Our technical writing students helped the Millville Community Center design a brochure. And our education students go into local elementary schools to help with after school mentoring.
(Collaborating in leadership development seminars)
All of our athletes are required to do service. Basketball team members read to students in elementary schools. The women’s baskeball team sponsored a mobile mammography clinic. Some of our athletes are working with the STEPS program at Inspira helping overweight children adopt a fitness regimen. And some raised money for domestic violence victims by collecting and selling used prom dresses.
We’ve even had a group of our agriculture students travel to impoverished Belize in Central America to share our expertise in greenhouse farming.
Each of these is a leadership opportunity for Cumberland County students, and an opportunity to make our community and the world a better place.
- TI
