Learning School Cheers was the First Moment I Felt I Belonged- 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 Morgan Petersen, […]
Student Leadership Lessons from the Restaurant
As the summer draws to an end (woah, that was quick), I have finished my fourth year of bar tending down the beach. After my last night at work, my coworkers and I decided to celebrate another summer by going out after our shift ended. It was a really great night where everyone shared his […]
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 […]
Lip Sync Battles Are Extremely Important
You enter the auditorium, shaking, nervously looking at the bright stage set up for the next activity. You know what it is and you know it’ll take you far out of your comfort zone. You want to find a way out. That’s how a lot of people feel about the very last event of orientation […]
4 Love-Centered Tips for Increasing Engagement in Your Student Organization
Pulling my hair out, twitching at work, having slight panic attacks over all the work to be done.. Making lists upon lists for a cultural club instead of homework and papers. Caring more about the outcome of our event than the job I was getting paid for….and good golly gosh I loved it. That’s what […]
Playing to Win Can Get You Coffee
I woke up this morning in my usual haze, unsure of what was happening or what I needed to do. There’s only a few fixes to this problem, but my favorite is coffee. I leave my building, and silently praise whoever decided to put a Dunkin Donut’s directly next to my apartment. There’s always a […]
Putting “Open Doors, Open Hearts” to Work at Orientation
Walking into the next orientation was always a nerve-wracking experience. The orientation leaders’ heads were filled with questions such as “Which student is going to give me a hard time?” and “What happens if I can’t convince them to participate?” In OL training, we were prepared for these students. We were told what to say […]
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 […]
Using Micro-Actions to Create a Strong Campus Culture
I didn’t know anyone at the school, so I patiently waited in the lobby for the student life advisor to show up. When at first, I thought I was alone, the janitor turned the corner and saw me. He smiled and said, “Hi.” I smiled back. Then a group of two students walked past me […]