On Wednesday Nov. 7th Saint Xavier University held the Cougar LEAD Pizza Party for students to come and learn about what the Cougars LEAD Leadership Certificate Program has to offer.
Cougars LEAD is a customized leadership certificate program that aims to encourage students to expand the skills and capabilities needed to prepare them for a lifetime of learning and to get them involved on campus.
Through the Leadership Certificate Program, students with be assisted in connecting with their out-of-class leadership encounters with their career and academic ambitions, which will allow them to gain pre-professional experience that can be utilized in the workforce.
The Cougars LEAD Leadership Certificate Program lets students adjust their experiences to fit their specific interests.
All SXU undergraduate students who are currently enrolled have been registered in the Path on the Den for the Cougars LEAD Certificate Program.
When a student becomes a participant of the Cougars LEAD program, they develop skills in reflective learning, critical thinking, planning, meeting management, time management, group motivation, team building, and conflict resolution.
Furthermore, students gain the knowledge of leadership theories, practices and models while recognizing the benefit of service and how leaders serve, and they will be able to explore and discover their personal identity and make their personal values a reality.
Students will also be able to display responsible decision-making, personal-accountability and work into their actions and ability to work with a wide range of people.
Program requirements and core foundations include the student registering on the Den, joining the Cougars LEAD group, completing the required number of experiences in each of the program’s foundational competencies, completing a Capstone Leadership Project, and contacting a Cougars LEAD staff member at cougarslead@sxu.edu.
Under the required experiences, students must complete are leadership theory (2 experiences), communication and collaboration (6 experiences), diversity and multicultural awareness (4 experiences), Service and volunteerism (2 experiences), personal and professional development (4 experiences), and applied leadership experience (2 experiences).
The leadership project requires the student to plan and organize a service or leadership project that takes place on campus, and has a positive outcome. It must impact the Saint Xavier University community, at any or all levels.
Students should document their experiences in order to track their progress through the program. They should make sure to scan into events on campus by using their Den QR code.
In addition, students can manually enter experiences and memberships right through their Den account. It is important for students in the program to keep track of all organizations, events attended, and the positions held – all of the them will count for the various program needed.
“I think that it is good to see your leadership opportunities, and it actually strived me to be more involved cause I would see the things that I was involved in. If I needed to finish one more thing, like I know for me personally the diversity and multicultural awareness, I noticed that’s the one I was low on so I was trying to build more of that. I was going to more events and helping out friends with it and going to their events. It helped me be way more involved and it helped me realize all the things I was involved in,” says participant Monica Justice.
Employers are looking for a number of skills from potential employees, and more likely than not, having a Leadership Certificate puts an individual above other candidates. For more information on the Cougars LEAD Leadership Certificate Program email cougarslead@sxu.edu with any questions or concerns.
Kylee Rus
News Reporter