School is Here- Where’s the Enthusiasm?
The beginning of the school year is always the same. You see first years with a weird mix of nervousness and excitement, and upperclassmen with little to no energy. You’ll walk into a classroom and see the split right away. The first years are sitting in the front row and have all the school supplies […]
Open Your Heart: 3 Ways to Use Life Defining Moments to Strengthen Your Team
Today marks another year in the books for QUEST, a first year summer leadership experience at my university. Each year I’ve served as a peer mentor during QUEST, helping the freshmen in our program to adjust well to campus, become engaged leaders, and develop personal goals for the year. Each year, the peer mentors and […]
A SMART Way to Increase Engagement
It was the end of the spring semester, where we found a discouraged student leader wondering where his organization went wrong: “I just don’t get it. I mean I told the team it was our goal to place in the top 3 at the International CollegiateA Capella Championships. I even made sure we practiced as […]
Ground Floor Community – Elevators Shouldn’t be Silent
Close your eyes and go back to the last time you took an elevator. How many of the strangers around you spoke? None, right? Did you all look at your phones and avoid eye contact and touching at all? Probably. That’s usually the case, and it works just fine. This morning, I walked into my […]
Small Actions, Little Risk, Big Rewards – Building Engagement on Campus
I recently watched the movie We Bought a Zoo and heard this line: “You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.” In the movie our main character, played by Matt Damon, is giving […]
To All the “Student Leaders” Who Never Asked for the Title
We spend a lot of time picturing the quintessential “student leader” – frenzied, wide eyed, hyper, loves ice breakers, does about a thousand and one activities. The poster child of the school. The “they are GOING places, unless they burn out, knock on wood” students. But what about everyone else? What about the student leaders […]
A Statue of Success for Your Campus Organization
While at a professional baseball game with friends this past spring, I came across statues of historic baseball players. They were beautiful statues that depicted the legendary players’ most notable stances while they had played. While staring at these iconic figures, I asked one of my friends, “If there was to be a statue made of yourself, […]
Remember You Weren’t Always This Great
On my way to watch a softball game in Central Park, I rounded a corner, where I was greeted by a dad and his two teenage boys. Based on his equipment and form, it was clear the dad was a life-long runner. His boys…not so much. The mis-match in running experience reminded me of the […]
How to Make the Least Engaged Student a Hero
Crossing your lovely campus, you run into a student so introverted that your extrovert mind says “Why does he even come to our club meetings when he seems so…uninterested…” But you push this [biased] thought aside, put on your best smile and say “Hey, Dan! What’s up?” After a brief mumbled response from him, you mention […]
Going Greek to Get Involved – A Student Leader Spotlight
We are always meeting student leaders who are going the extra mile to make others feel welcome and build community culture on their campuses. We realized that one great way to learn from each other is to spotlight different students who have made an impact on the lives of their fellow students. Meet Gerard Edward Smithwrick, a […]