By Michael Bernaschina, Staff Writer
Students wishing to improve their leadership skills will have the opportunity to do so during Susquehanna’s winter break at the Leadershape event.
“The unique thing about Leadershape is that it’s six day intensive, but you go from large group activities to small group activities, so there’s a level of intimacy there and you get to know people,” said Darin Namminga, Intern Campus Life Coordinator and Program Coordinator of Leadershape.
The event will take place over winter break, from Jan. 1 to Jan. 20, and will be held at the Ladore Camp Retreat and Conference Center in Waymart, Pennsylvania. According to Namminga, an average of 70 students have applied each year, though only 60 spots are available. Accompanying the students on the trip are six cluster facilitators, made up of faculty and staff.
“They’re the ones who implement the program in a smaller group environment,” Namminga said.
Susquehanna University has been doing Leadershape for the past eight years, and has sent around 423 students to the program since it started.
Students concerned about the cost won’t have to worry, as the university has subsidized the event. Transportation, food, lodging, and the program itself are all financially taken care of by Susquehanna University, Namminga said.
Leadershape also makes cross-campus collaboration a priority, where students from different majors interact and work together, rather than staying to the confines of their own major, Namminga said. He also assures that the program is welcoming to students of any major and level of leadership skills.
“It’s really at whatever level of leadership people are interested or intrigued by,” he said. “You can have people who have never thought about being leaders and expand their basic skill set significantly, and you can have people who are already existing leaders who will then go above and beyond, and really energize and transform their current leadership skills.”
“One of the fallacies is that people say ‘I don’t want to be a leader,’ or ‘I’m never going to be a leader,’ but the reality is that somewhere in your life, you’re going to be asked to do something and you’re going to have to gather people, and you want to do that well,” Namminga added. “This is a great opportunity to get those skills, because not everywhere has training for you to get those skills. So it’s a resume builder, and it’s a personality builder.
Each day at Leadershape features a different theme, each with the intention of progressing the student’s sense of community, as well as their core values, Namminga said.
The forms for Leadershape were made available online on Oct. 1, and are to be completed by Nov. 5. Students who wish to apply can find the forms online at https://leadershape.org/applications/apply/3592.
