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Building leaders, lesson by lesson
by David Revere |
Page 1 of 2
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"Give back... contribute... make life better." —Carmen McSpadden
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A worn quote taped to the door of Carmen McSpadden's office announces that here is a place "…where your deepest gladness and the world's deepest hunger meet."
The quote by writer Frederick Buechner has helped shape the life of McSpadden, the inspirational director of MSU's Leadership Institute who in turn, influences the growing number of students involved in the program that cultivates young leaders.
"When there's an alignment of your values and beliefs with what it is that you're doing, you get lots of energy," she says. "I personally get lots of energy from working with students."
McSpadden grins when she's talking about her students, which she likes to do frequently. She has been a force of tireless energy for the five years she has directed the institute, a center launched by the Associated Students of MSU in 1997. She says the position has given her an opportunity to both facilitate and practice a values-centered style of leadership.
"One of the best things you can do in the world is give back, contribute, and make where you live and work better," she says. "We expect students to lead here. This isn't about the future leaders of the world. This is about leading right now."
McSpadden's team of 10 student interns has given back by organizing the recent campus visits of a number of international thinkers, such as novelist Salman Rushdie, primatologist Jane Goodall and Nobel peace prize laureate Shirin Ebadi. The students learn a great deal by coordinating the lectures, and the Bozeman and university community is enriched by the messages of world-class thinkers.
Working with history-makers has left life-changing impressions, says Zach Stordahl, a 21-year-old senior from Moorhead, Minn., majoring in electrical engineering and a senior associate at the Leadership Institute. Stordahl was inspired by Ishmael Beah, a 27-year-old human rights activist and former child soldier from Sierra Leone, who visited MSU in 2008.
"Here's someone our age who has already done so much," Stordahl says. "When I started working here, I never thought I would get the chance to meet national and international leaders like him."
Beyond bringing in high-impact leaders to visit and speak to students on campus, McSpadden says the Leadership Institute functions as an entry point for students interested in leadership opportunities. Whether they're organizing congressional debates, hosting panel discussions on hot-topic issues such as gun control, or providing resources for leadership scholarships, her interns get plenty of opportunity to exercise their team-building, communication and organizational skills.
"This is so much more than what you can learn in a classroom," Stordahl says. "It's hands-on."
McSpadden doesn't plan on slowing down any time soon. Stacks of paper cover the surface of an entire desk in her office. "Opportunities," she affectionately calls them. The papers are printouts of potential projects she's mulling over.
One such project, a collaborative effort involving the Leadership Institute, ASMSU and the new University College, is sure to explode the opportunity for leadership training at MSU. Beginning in spring 2009, MSU will offer a "Leadership Fellows" certificate option for undergraduates. Students who take the 16-credit, interdisciplinary course will develop leadership skills through a combination of class work and community service and receive an "MSU Leadership Fellows Program" designation on their transcripts.
> Fall 2008 Contents
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