The Leading Edge program, developed by First Year Experience and Campus Life, introduces first year students to leadership opportunities on LSU's campus, fosters an environment where they can grow as leaders at their own level and introduces them to resources both on and off campus that can help develop their leadership skills.
LSU First Year Students Gain a “Leading Edge” with New Program
The first year of college is all about trying out new experiences, whether it’s living on your own for the first time, picking out a major, going to a game in Tiger Stadium with 92,000 of your closest friends or relaxing on the Parade Ground after a tough final. There are hundreds of things to experience in your first week of college alone, but sometimes it’s hard to find your niche in a new place.
The first year as an LSU Tiger is one of the most critical in laying a foundation for future success. For this reason, a couple of areas on campus focus on enhancing the LSU experience to help set students up for the future.
First Year Experience, or FYE, helps facilitate a positive transition into campus life through programs and outreach to heighten student success inside and outside the classroom. FYE offers a number of programs including STRIPES, Bengals Beyond the Bayou, the Tiger Transition Team and Bengal Book Groups, to name a few. Campus Life promotes innovative leadership, service and involvement initiatives that enrich the LSU experience and enhance student learning. Such initiatives include numerous student leadership development opportunities such as the Geaux Lead Retreat and the Lagniappe Leadership Conference.
The first group of LSU students completed Leading Edge this spring with a closing reception at the chancellor's residence in their honor.
Last semester, FYE and Campus Life collaborated to create a new leadership program specifically for first year students. The program, Leading Edge, is designed to help students gain confidence in their abilities as leaders and “find their niche” in the LSU community. The first group of 22 students completed the program this spring.
“Campus Life and First Year Experience met during the fall semester to discuss options for a leadership program that would help first year students not yet connected at LSU develop their skills and find their niche in the LSU community,” said Missy Korduner, FYE assistant director. “It was our goal to connect them to at least one student organization or leadership opportunity to get involved in following the completion of the program.”
The goals of the Leading Edge program are to introduce first year students to leadership opportunities on LSU’s campus, to foster an environment where first year students can grow as leaders at their own level and to introduce first year students to resources both on and off campus that can help develop their leadership skills.
“With Leading Edge, not only have I met a whole new group of outstanding freshmen but also expanded my leadership abilities in more ways than one,” said Eric Garcia, an accounting major from Houma. “Throughout the program, we learned different topics and ideas pertaining to leadership. Each week we discussed the new ideas and participated in interactive activities that paralleled it.”
Leading Edge is a seven-week program designed to assist and develop first year leaders during the spring semester. The program is made up of interactive leadership activities, guest speakers and personal self-reflection.
“The Leading Edge program helped me to interact with current leaders and future leaders on campus,” said Daniel Depaula, a biochemistry major from Allen, Texas. “It was a great experience meeting new people, as well as learning about our community during our service project.”
The inaugural Leading Edge class participated in a number of activities, including the service project at the Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired. The program ended with a closing reception hosted by LSU Chancellor Michael Martin.
“For the last part of the program, we volunteered at the Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired and assisted in an Easter egg hunt,” Garcia said. “While it was a blast and my favorite part of the entire program, it was an overwhelmingly rewarding experience.”
To be considered for the Leading Edge program, students must meet the following requirements:
- Be a student in their first year at LSU;
- Be enrolled as a full time student (at least 12 credit hours);
- Be in good standing with the university (not on academic or disciplinary probation, suspension, etc.);
- Be interested in developing their leadership skills;
- Be interested in getting involved in an organization or committee on campus;
- Be available Thursday evenings during the spring semester from 6-8 p.m.
“I would highly recommend this program to incoming students,” Depaula said. “This program allowed us to interact and meet with many different types of people, all striving to be leaders at LSU and in the real world.”
Participants in Leading Edge are expected to actively participate in all Thursday evening meetings; actively participate in the service project; complete all assignments as required; be open to new challenges, activities and experiences; and participate in at least one student organization following completion of the program.
“Each and every incoming freshman looking to expand their leadership capabilities should sign up,” Garcia said. “I would recommend this program to everyone who is in search of their niche on campus because it opens up so many doors.”
Applications for Leading Edge will be available in fall 2010. For more information, contact leading@lsu.edu or visit http://www.fye.lsu.edu/leadingedge.
The Leading Edge program is just one of the many services that FYE and Campus Life provide for students. New programs are constantly being developed for new students, both freshmen and transfers. For more information on the services available, visit www.fye.lsu.edu or www.lsu.edu/campuslife.
Ernie Ballard | Editor | Office of Communications & University Relations
June 2010
