As members of our community, students are expected to involve themselves outside of the classroom in teams, organizations, and other areas of campus-life in order to develop their confidence and proficiency in responsible citizenship. The Center for Student Life prides itself in being the home of student-leadership development and offers a wide array of opportunities and experiences for our young campus-community members to develop the necessary skills and maturity to become a fully contributing member of society.
The leadership development initiative that serves as the official umbrella for all our leadership development programs is F.L.A.S.H., or Franciscan Leaders: Achieve, Serve, & Honor. The F.L.A.S.H. curriculum provides fundamental competencies for our student-leaders through such areas as Franciscan Values, Leadership Theory, Diversity Awareness, and Community Development. Through F.L.A.S.H., there are four primary components that students can choose to participate in. Those components are the Student Government Association, iLEAD (or the Institute for Leadership Education and Development), the Emerging Leaders program, and the Greek Life experience. You can read more about the SGA and Greek Life by navigating their web pages, however, below is some additional information on iLEAD and the Emerging Leaders.
iLEAD includes:
- The Orientation Leaders experience - students who are sophomores and above will have the opportunity to lead and serve their new Freshmen classmates as peer-mentors during the Freshmen/New Student Orienation program. Students interested in participating should stop by the Center for Student Life for an application.
- S.A.I.L. (Students As Interactive Leaders) - is a hands-on, competitve, team-building experience offered during the Freshmen/New Student Orientation program. Participants will compete in a series of low-ropes challenges in order to develop tolerance, communication skills, and trust. Students may sign up for SAIL during the Summer Orienation & Academic Registration (SOAR) seminars offered during the summer prior to your Freshmen year.
- The iLEAD Speaker Series - the hallmark of iLEAD, this monthly symposium will present topics from a wide assortment of leadership theories and practices. The lectures will be lead by members of the Saint Francis University professional staff and administration, our own distinguished faculty and alumni, as well as professionals and successes from around the region. All students are welcome to attend.
The Emerging Leaders program offers an intense four-year curriculum that provides participants opportunities in collaboration with other university and community groups for leadership development and team-project management. The full Emerging Leaders program is set to officially start during the Fall 2009 semester. Participants will be selected through an application and interview process. Once the program is up and running, only 16 participants will be chosen from each undergraduate class.
For more information regarding Leadership Development or the F.L.A.S.H. paradigm, please contact the Center for Student Life at (814)472-3005.
