LifeWorks hosts student leadership forum
September 11, 2007
LifeWorks — Evangel’s Center for Leadership and Life Calling — sponsored a student leadership forum on Sept. 8, 2007.
—Aric Schauer, sophomore class president
Nearly 150 students registered and participated in the forum intended to address issues faced by students in campus leadership positions. Students representing numerous campus clubs and organizations attended, including students interested in becoming campus leaders.
Everyone who attended received a T-shirt. This student writes her top-five strengths on blank lines provided on the back of the shirt.
Kelly Foster, CROSSwalk director, Amanda Maicus, Burgess Hall discipleship administrator, gather with other CROSSwalk ministry team members to decide who will attend each of the leadership workshops.
Alina Black, associate director of leadership and strengths development for LifeWorks and assistant professor of organizational leadership, coordinated the forum.
All students take Evangel’s Essential Christianity course in which they complete the Gallup Organization’s online StrengthsFinder assessment, enabling students to discover their top-five themes of talent. Through events like this forum and other campus activities, students are encouraged to explore these strengths.
Professional Perspective
The event featured guest speakers Ron and Nancy Bogart, owners of Jordan Essentials — a company based in Nixa, Mo., that sells bath, body and spa products. The Bogarts spoke about using their strengths in the growth and continued success of their business.
Ron Bogart, a graduate of Evangel’s degree completion program, believes students have a great opportunity to develop their leadership potential at Evangel. “The fact that you’re getting to learn about and use your strengths at an early age is such a gift,” he said.
By discovering her talents through the StrengthsFinder assessment, Nancy Bogart was able to build a career to fit her abilities. “I’m doing what I love to do and how I love to do it,” she said.
The Bogarts urged students to exercise their talents and seek leadership positions that maximize use of those strengths. “Don’t fight who you are,” Nancy Bogart said.
Workshops
Participants also attended breakout sessions on marketing, accounting, conducting meetings, communicating with proper business etiquette, building relationship connections, identifying signs of mental burnout, building effective teams and establishing team goals.
In addition to the workshops, attendees were challenged to meet four new students, share about their roles as campus leaders and discuss how they use their strengths to effectively lead.
“This event gave me the opportunity to know other student leaders on campus,” said Aric Schauer, sophomore class president.
Schauer learned things at the forum that will enable him as a student leader. “There are a lot of resources on campus that I didn’t know were available,” he said.
LifeWorks is made possible through grants from the Lilly Endowment. This program is intended to help students explore how their faith influences their career, life goals and daily practices.
Contact the Center for Leadership and Life Calling for available LifeWorks programs and opportunities.