TIGER TV ONLINE REPORTER
Eleven handpicked students stood on stage Wednesday night at the African American Cultural Center celebrating their commitment and achievement in Emerging Leaders Challenge.
Niya Blair, the coordinator of African American Student Affairs, and Cerise Edmonds, the coordinator for the Office of Multicultural Affairs, founded the ELC in the summer of 2009.
“It’s a new leadership development initiative Niya and I created based on Kouzes and Posner’s Five Practices for Exemplary Leaders,” Edmonds said.
The Five Practices are Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act and Encourage the Heart.
Dominique Dangerfield, a chemical engineering senior, said his favorite practice was Encourage the Heart.
Dangerfield holds a position as a co-team leader for the MLK Performing Arts Night Committee.
Edmonds and Blair handpicked the students in whom they saw leadership potential.
“We try to focus on students new to leadership positions or we saw had leadership potential but didn’t feel comfortable stepping up to the position at the time,” Edmonds said.
At the beginning of the process, less than half of the students held leadership positions, she said.
“Now all of them are in leadership positions,” Edmonds said.
The group met every three weeks during the semester and plans on meeting three more times in the Spring, Blair said.
During the meetings, the students and Edmonds and Blair shared personal experiences and facilitated discussions on leadership, Blair said.
Students also had to experience an “Ah-ha” moment, she said.
“My ah-ha moment was when I realized I can’t do everything by myself,” said Matthew Culpepper, an anthropology junior. “I can trust the officers and people in my group.”
Culpepper currently holds a leadership positions as president of Spectrum.
Spectrum is part of the Gay, Lesbians, Bisexuals, Transgender, Questioning, Queer and Intersex Students group.
It promotes a safe environment and social networking.
The students celebrated how far they’ve come in their leadership development by issuing personal statements.
“ELC gave us the opportunity to reflect on leadership qualities,” said Kalan Jones, an elementary education senior. “In daily life, I grew as a leader.”
Blair said she hopes the students will apply their new leadership qualities to the University’s community as well as after graduation.
Edmonds said she and Blair will continue to handpick students for the ELC commitment.
