Conference encourages leadership development

Brian Farkas News Editor

The Leadership for Change series, which began two weeks ago on Feb. 5, has garnered a strong reception from students. The series will feature some 17 different discussions led by members of the administration and Vassar Student Association (VSA) Council. These hour-long workshops will continue until late April.

There are over 60 students currently registered for the program, and nearly 30 attended each of the first two workshops.

Overseen by the Leadership for Change Committee, a group of appointed students, faculty and administration, the discussions are divided into three tracks: student organizations, student leaders and social consciousness.

The series encourages an “inside-out development process to enhance the way each participant view themselves, the Vassar community, and the world beyond,” according to its mission statement. Consisting of a series of workshops, this cross-campus initiative aims to foster leadership skills of emerging and current student leaders.

“We felt it was important to focus on student orgs first-off, as we have done traditionally, because we invest significant resources in those groups each year,” said VSA Vice President for Activities and member of the Committee Jimmy Kelly ’09. “In addition, we thought it made sense to reach out to emerging leaders—to give them the tools they need in becoming leaders at Vassar and beyond. Finally, we felt that no leadership initiative could be complete without assessing the role of social consciousness—the fact that we live in a diverse community, and the ways in which we must be constantly mindful of that fact,” he said.

Kelly said that the Leadership for Change series will serve two functions. First, it will link the many initiatives spread across the different offices on campus.

Second, the series will provide new types of leadership training.

“Where necessary, we are charting new territory. I personally don’t think Vassar has challenged its student body enough in the past to deal with issues that divide our community—issues that will continue to have significance in the world beyond Vassar.” He hopes that, by learning these skills, students will have a greater chance of building an inclusive society beyond Vassar.

Chair of the Leadership for Change Committee and Assistant Director for Campus Life Julie Silverstein agreed, adding that leadership initiatives had been poorly-coordinated in the past. “This program focuses on transferrable skills that can be utilized during various leadership positions at Vassar, as well as practical skills that can be utilized beyond student’s time at Vassar,” she said.

Career Counselor Aimee Catizone led the most recent discussion on Tuesday, Feb. 19. Her workshop, entitled “Translating Leadership Experiences to Your Résumé,” dealt with the definitions of leadership and its importance in building experience. “Many students think leadership means being the president of a club and don't realize there are many other ways to define leadership,” said Catizone. “Yes, it is being the president of a club, but it also is being a committee chair, the captain or co-captain of a sports team or even being involved with a community organization. It is our goal to open up students’ eyes to the different types of leadership positions and how to best highlight that position and skills learned on a résumé,” said Catizone.

Catizone noted the importance of leadership for both personal advancement and employability. “The skills a student learns in a leadership position are so helpful and important when searching for an internship or job,” she said. “Many employers look for leadership involvement and really seek out students that have had a leadership experience.”

“I think one of the most unique aspects of this leadership program is the excellent collaboration effort among various departments campus-wide,” said Silverstein. The committee itself consists of students with wide ranges of experience as well as administrators from the Career Development Office, Campus Life, Residential Life, Campus Activities and administrators from a variety of offices.

Students can register for the program at any time on the VSA Web site, though anyone can attend the workshops.

“Some of the workshops overlap among those tracks, so students can register for as many tracks as they want and can "double-dip" on the workshops,” Silverstein noted. Successful completion of a leadership track involves attending six workshops within that track, including the three mandatory workshops specified on the schedule.