New students at N.C . State will now have the opportunity to develop their leadership abilities early on.
The Chancellor and Mrs. Susan Woodson have collaborated with N.C . State’s Women’s Center to bring new leadership opportunities to students through the Chancellor’s First Year Student Leadership Program.
The Chancellor’s First Year Student Leadership Program was created to “identify and nurture emerging leaders, improve participants’ self-efficacy, self-knowledge and leadership abilities through information sharing and relationship building,” according to the program website.
“[The program] has gotten my mind wondering about what I’m going to learn and achieve. I come to meetings ready for knowledge and ready to communicate. Although we’ve just started, everyone is just excited about this new adventure that no one else has done before,” Jermany Brown, freshman in fisheries and wildlife science, said.
Students are selected through a nomination process, which opens every fall semester; From them, there are 5 to 20 participants, who can commit to meeting two hours per week during the spring semester, are selected.
“I became interested in the program because I was looking for ways to get more involved in leadership around campus, and to do so with the Chancellor seemed like a great opportunity,” Katie Kyzer , freshman in meteorology, said.
Participants must be in their first year at NCSU and have an interest in developing their leadership abilities. There will be a strong focus on students from historically underrepresented groups, rural areas, and with a declared major in science, technology, engineering and mathematical fields.
“I am focused on stepping out of my comfort zone and actually speaking up and being heard. I can easily do that around friends but I want to be able to do it at a professional level. I feel like I have a lot to say and this program is exactly what I need to take that first step,” Brown said.
The program will have numerous activities where students will have the chance to grow as leaders on campus. Some of the activities include arranged dinners with the Woodsons at the chancellor’s residence.
“The program has had two meetings so far, but I look forward to being a guest at the home of the Chancellor. I know that spending time with the Chancellor is a unique opportunity. I’m also interested in learning about how female leaders are perceived in contrast to male leaders and how I can harness the power of that perception. It’s important for females today to realize the great leadership potential they have in our generation,” Kyzer said.
Current participants of the program have selected topics centered on different types of leaderships that will be featured in their upcoming meetings. Some of the topics include, “Who Rules the World: An introduction to gender-based leadership theory,” ‘History/ Herstory : Historical perspectives and current laws that impact understanding of gender-based leadership,” and ‘Looking in the Mirror: What kind of leader will YOU be?”
“We will feature guest speakers, topics related to leadership, advanced protocol training on how to interact in different kinds of business situations including cultural confidence components, something the typical student would not face everyday,” Dr. Ashley Simons-Rudolph, director of N.C . State Women’s Center and Chancellor’s First Year Student Leadership Program, Instructor in Women’s and Gender Studies Department, said.
Interested students should email Dr. Ashley Simons-Rudolph ( apsimons@ncsu.edu ), during the fall semester. The email should include the student’s name, email address, telephone number, declared major/minor and a one-page essay on why they are interested in a gender-based leadership opportunity.
”It’s an honor to have been selected and it’s a wonder program. This is a wonderful addition to lots of really good leadership opportunities on campus. Our campus is really strong in leadership in general, so we are really pleased to offer this program, as well as other leadership opportunities on campus,” Rudolph said.