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About Leaders in Kennesaw Leaders in Kennesaw or LINK is a group that is part of the Center for Student Leadership at Kennesaw State University. It is a three year program based on leadership, ethics, community service, and relationship building. Each year offers a different experience and allows members to find out more about themselves and how they can work better in teams. Members attend a 2 hour meeting once a week during the school year for three years and gradually complete each level of the program. First year: Learn about self. Second year: Learn about team. Third year: Apply skills to an International Civic Engagement project.
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During this year, I learned several things about my personality and my leadership style. Also, I learned presentation skills, ethical standpoints, behavioral styles, and ways of dealing with confrontation within groups. The goal of the second year is to use the skills learned in the first year in order to work together to plan events and community activities. Originally, Ascend was the middle year of the program that was in limbo for the third year international civic engagement project. To inhance the Ascend experience, I trailblazed a project to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi for Katrina relief. By trailblaze, I mean took the initiative to organize a group of 20 people to go somewhere nationally to do a “national civic engagement project.” I networked through over 50 people and finally found connections in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. I also organized transportation, amount of days, housing, food, and all budgeting agendas.
Now, because of this initiative, the program has been reformed to include a local, national, and international civic engagement project throughout the three levels. Also, in this year, I went with a group of about 12 students to New York City for a leadership conference at the college of Staten Island. While there we met with business leader, Francis Hesselbein of Girl Scouts of America, for a private luncheon to discuss our group, popular leadership methods, and future plans. We also met with Dee Dee Myers, press secretary for the Clinton administration and writer of “Why Women Should Rule the World.” Overall, it was an amazing opportunity to meet with such wonderful examples of excellent leadership styles.
The assignment I did during this year is peer lead. I worked hand in hand with a professor of a KSU 1101 class to help plan the syllabus, teach, grade, and develop new assignments. The most important assignment for me was the journal entries. Each student wrote me 4 journal entries in the semester in which they could write whatever they wanted to write and I would respond with advice. Several students went out of their way to thank me for my help and to say they wish they had me in all their classes. The experience was incredible and taught me more about leadership and presenting that I ever thought possible.
At the half-way point of Ascend, our group picked the group’s top favorite developing countries in which we’d like to go. We narrowed it down to 6 by vote, then voted to get top 3 of Thailand, Turkey, an South Africa, then finally voted to get our final choice—South Africa. Once we picked a country, we had to start developing the project. Included in the development is an important presentation to the dean of the university college, the dean of the college of science and math, and four other faculty members. The presentation is an effort to gain a $15,000-18,000 endowment grant towards the international civic engagement project. In order to obatain the grant, each member of the board of directors analyzed each part of the presentation—where, when, why, how, how much—goals, budgeting, fundraising, marketing, etc… Five people from the group made the presentation (I presented budget with an incredible excel spreadsheet that I developed.). In the end, we impressed the board so much that they didn’t even have questions for us! We received the grant for $17,800 allotted towards our initiative. I also did the same presentation with 1 other person a week later in front of about 300 people and raised $3,500 towards our trip.
Planning wasn’t over from there though. We continued planning for another year after that. We fundraised enough to raise well over $30,000! We lowered the expected group member cost from $3,600 a piece to less than $900! We used Skype to connect with business leaders in Stellenbosh, South Africa to plan itineraries, housing, meetings, presentations, and community service projects. What went from simply picking a country, turned into partnering with students at Stellenbosh University in South Africa to discuss leadership styles, culturally immerse, develop relationships, expand the LINK program, and work within the community. Overall, the project was a huge success! We were the third group from LINK to go international, and we made the biggest footprint in the LINK program thus far. |
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“Never stop dreamin’ cuz when you stop dreamin’ it’s time to die.” -Blind Melon |
