What makes a leader a good leader is a question that has many different answers. Perhaps it’s good decision making. Maybe it’s being a good listener. Or it could be the ability to have a vision for an organization and following through on it.
ASMSA seniors Danielle Luyet, Blake Smith and Joshua Stallings along with residential experience coordinator Liz Carrel participated in the Clinton Presidential Center Student Presidential Leaders Series, a year-long program that sought the answer that question in part. The program consisted of five sessions that helped the participants build meaningful relationships across identity lines, challenged them to discover how their core values impact how they make a difference in their communities, participated in a special service-learning program in celebration of Global Youth Service Day and other activities.
The series started in November 2020. The final session was a workshop that serves as a culminating experience for the students and educators in which they explore an issue that is important to the next generation of leaders.
The modular educational series is designed to inspire the next generation through curriculum and activities rooted in social engagement, according to the program’s website. It offered an in-depth look at the process of presidential leadership, the importance of civic participation and the tactics of turning knowledge into action. Through the program, the Clinton Center aimed to build capacity within future leaders and enhance the abilities of educators to support student development.
Fifteen participants statewide were chosen for the student and educator cohorts. They participated in a wrap-up dinner on July 25, the first in-person event they in which they were able to participate. The other sessions were held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Smith, Luyet and Carrel were able to attend the dinner.
Luyet said she was immediately interested in the program when application information was shared with students. She wanted to develop leadership skills she would use beyond her time at ASMSA but would also be able to have an impact at school.
“I’ll be able to apply my leadership skills in SGA through my role as vice president,” Luyet said. “As students share with me their concerns about our community, I’ll use conversation skills I practiced in the Presidential Series with the rest of SGA and the E-board to really contribute positive change.”
Stallings wants to use what he learned in the program to build connections between ASMSA students and faculty members.
“Through the program, I learned how forming these connections can be beneficial to both sides, and I think a lot of people don’t realize the power of just reaching out, getting to know someone and asking them to do something for you,” he said.
Building connections with others was the focus of the first workshop of the series where the participants introduced themselves and shared information and thoughts they might not normally share with strangers.
“My favorite part of the series was our initial workshop which focused on building relationships across identity lines and addressing difficult-to-talk-about issues,” Stallings said. “It was really educational because we talked about the best ways to approach conflict and solve problems while making sure we were aware of everyone’s emotions and identities.
“Second to that, I enjoyed getting to know the different educators and students across the state. The small size of the program meant it was easy for us to build a community amongst ourselves.”
Carrel said she believes that the best leaders put most of their time and energy into helping other people be more successful, by making connections, giving feedback and providing the resources they need.
“This is definitely a leadership skill I utilize in working and mentoring our students here at ASMSA. I provide students a variety of resources, feedback and connections to be successful not only as a leader, but as a well-rounded human when they enter a world outside of ASMSA,” she said.
Leadership ultimately comes down to an individual’s ability to take a group of people or organization and drive them toward a common purpose, Carrel said.
“The more intricate part of doing this is activating leadership in people so they are self-motivated to play their part in getting the goal accomplished. Therefore, leaders must embody the values of their organization and lead by example,” she said.
Leaders must also be willing to have open conversations that include different perspectives to lead to change. That was something the program did very well, Luyet said.
“My favorite part of the series was the community we fostered. In the program, we had many open conversations about our local social scenes and how we could better serve them as leaders. This discussion often led to each one of us gaining perspectives on social change. It was really neat being able to openly address, without any judgment, what could use fixing in each of our communities,” she said.
Carrel said ASMSA’s student participants were a good example for other members of the cohort.
“I’m incredibly proud of our students in how they represented the school throughout this series,” she said.