On March 22, Kera Armstrong, Kaylee Fell, Shawn Harriett, Lynne (Mari) Koslofsky, Antony Redding and Ashley Walczyk graduated from the Emerging Leaders series offered by the iLead office. The Emerging Leaders series, introduced to Mount St. Mary’s University by Professor Dana Sauers, is a seven-week course that strives to teach students leadership skills and understanding.
Using the textbook “Leadership Theory and Practice” by Peter G. Northouse, these six students dove into what it means to be a leader and why virtuous and holistic leadership is so crucial to today’s society.
Shawn Harriett (C’25) said his experience in the program “has been a big contribution to the development of my leadership abilities. Not only was I able to learn new theories but I was able to listen to other's experiences in leadership. Overall, the program is a great opportunity to step into a leadership role in the future.”
They listened to a talk from the Mount’s Seminarian Sean O’Connor about virtue and how virtue plays a crucial role in leadership. During these past seven weeks, these six students have spent time developing their leadership skills and applying them to their daily lives.
Lynne (Mari) Koslofsky (C’25) reflected on her experience in the program, “Emerging Leaders has taught me to hold myself to a higher level in my personal and academic life. As a person with anxiety, I fear a lot about what could go wrong. As a leader, it is okay to be fearful about the unknown. However, you should not let fear control you. Emerging leaders taught me that.”
When asked what Emerging Leaders has taught him, Anthony Redding stated, “It has taught me more than just how to be an effective leader. This course taught me more about myself and my leadership styles and taught me how to become a servant leader to better work in groups.”