Thursday, Jan 31, 2013
During a unique, 10-week training course, several students from Westminster Choir College, will have the opportunity to develop skills to become effective leaders on campus and in their future careers.
by Meaghan Haugh
During a unique, 10-week training course, several students from Rider’s Westminster Choir College, will have the opportunity to develop skills to become effective leaders on campus and in their future careers. The Westminster Leadership Series, which will begin February 12, is based off of LDP 200: Foundations of Leadership, the first course in the sequence of academic and co-curricular requirements for the Leadership Development Program.
“The purpose of the series is to introduce students to key leadership concepts and to start them on a developmental path toward comfort with and effectiveness in a wide variety of leadership situations,” explained Laura Seplaki, director of the Leadership Development Program and associate director of the Center for the Development of Leadership Skills. “Our philosophy is leadership can be learned. Through leadership development activities, students are able to enhance their effectiveness as leaders.”
Throughout the series, students take leadership assessments, participant in active in-class discussions where they reflect on the “leadership in action” that they observe on campus or in the media, and design and implement a community outreach project as part of a team. Ultimately, the series is designed for students to demonstrate a number of leadership skills, including effective communication, influencing others, sensitivity to multicultural issues, ethical reasoning and decision-making.
The series was offered for the first time on the Princeton campus last semester. Participants included Voice Performance majors, Sacred Music majors and Music Studies majors. The students designed and implemented two community service projects — raised money for the American Red Cross for Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts, and offered tips on study habits and effective goal setting to students in Seabrook Lounge.
“The Westminster Leadership Series allows students to learn about themselves and others in a different way than they are used to seeing. They all know everyone is a fantastic musician, but through this program they learn that everyone is unique and has a different skill set beyond music,” said Christopher Botti, assistant dean of students at Westminster Choir College, who is running the series with Seplaki. “We also teach participants how to lead various personalities, which is an asset in any profession.”
For more information about The Westminster Leadership Series or to sign up, please contact Christopher Botti, ([email protected]) by Friday, February 8.