By Carmen McSpadden
Leadership can be an intimidating concept when you're still
trying out majors or formulating a career path. Yet, with a small and
supportive class environment, the literary shoulders of giants to stand on, and
local leaders as mentors and role models, a whole generation of MSU students
are coming into their own—and empowered by an MSU certificate program that
rewards students who think for themselves and do the things that they dream of
doing.
The MSU Leadership Fellows certificate program (LF) does
just this, adding value to all MSU degrees. The program incorporates
self-study, service work, and experiential education to empower students to
become positive agents of change. Every semester, the students’ “Personal
Leadership Plans” tell the story further.
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| Innovative MSU programs tap into students' potential to lead. |
One student fellow supplemented her study of books by
leaders such as Rudy Giuliani, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton with an initiative
to make the MSU campus smoke-free. Two students grew their non-profit Tias y
Tios organization by enlisting other students to help support the children of
Spanish speakers new to the area. A Sustained Dialogue chapter, designed to
air out contentious issues, emerged when several students identified a need and
worked to make it a reality. These are just a few examples of how students are
merging their interests with a new understanding of themselves as leaders.
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| Montana State University student Michael Edwards talks during a presentation by MSU Leadership students. |
Becoming an MSU Leadership Fellow during your undergraduate
or graduate education is a straightforward process. Take the three-credit “Leadership
Foundations” seminar, the three-credit Leadership Capstone seminar (recommended
for senior or junior year), and 12 leadership electives from a list of over 150
approved courses. Easily tailored to fit any major, LF recently added a
one-credit “Leadership Exploration” class for first-year students.
To get involved in the MSU Leadership Fellows Program,
contact Carmen McSpadden at cmcspadden.montana.edu or visit montana.edu/lf.
