The last weeks of April marked the end of Eastern Michigan University’s winter semester and the start of vacation for most students. But this was not the case for 60 students who were chosen to take part in LeaderShape, a nonprofit organization committed to teaching individuals how to become effective ethical leaders through a healthy disregard for the impossible.
From April 24-30 at Eco Grove Camp in Leonard, Michigan, students spent the morning engaged in group activities to develop better leadership skills.
The first day of LeaderShape was designed to show students how to build community by dividing the students into a family cluster, a smaller group of 10-12, led by an older facilitator. This was meant to provide a base for a caring environment where students could express themselves without fear of rejection or judgment.
Colin Shannon, a junior who attended, said, “It really opened up the floor to an honest and caring environment. We were able to discuss sensitive topics like personal instances of racial discrimination as well as how we have perpetuated it in the past.”
LeaderShape provides a means through group activities and feedback from peers to test out new behaviors individuals consider out of their comfort zone in order to lead better.
“Being a leader is about being able to successfully motivate a group towards a common goal,” Shannon said.
“I remember having to be put in the position of delegating tasks and telling people what to do,” Krista Allen said. “I got a lot of criticism for it because there were so many strong personalities there and they were all used to being in leadership positions. I felt frustrated afterwards. But I experienced dealing with others.”
The nearly weeklong event illustrated to college students how to have a healthy disregard for the impossible by having students create their own personal visions.
Shannon’s vision was to be able to implement small town values in a larger city setting. Allen’s vision was to create a world where adolescents were happy with their bodies and lead healthy lives.
The leaders of the event showed students how to apply these visions by having them participate in activities such as the Dynamic Group Simulation on the fourth day of camp. This is where participants were told to randomly grab five poker chips out of a bag after being told each chip’s worth.
The goal was to have the highest value of chips at the end of a round. When a round was over, the group was divided into the upper class, middle class and lower class based on the chip value accrued.
“The upper class made the rules and did not struggle to maintain their position,” Shannon said,
“The middle class were oppressed and tried frantically to get to the top while the lower class did whatever they could to harm the others. Some of the people actually looked in the bag and chose their chips. They ended up in the upper class.”
The exercise mirrored how social classes react in the real world.
Like life, there were innumerable outcomes that could have occurred. In one group, the lower and middle class united to place a trade embargo on the upper class, and in another group someone tried to overthrow the whole system.
The simulation was a transition into how people from different organizations and cliques on campus acted around each other.
“LeaderShape brought different organizations together,” Allen said. “There were members of the different EMU Greek organizations there. Back at EMU they would have stayed far away from each other. It was amazing to see people come together in spite of their differences.”
One of the advantages of taking part in LeaderShape is an EMU organization or business can sponsor the entire trip for a student affiliated with them. Shannon was sponsored by the EMU Admissions Office, where he works in the mailroom, to attend LeaderShape, “but I would have paid to experience what I had this past week.”
“I liked when all the day’s activities were done and everybody got together just to relax,” Allen said. “I learned a lot of dance moves. I got a little silly.”
To learn more information or to find out about applying for EMU LeaderShape 2011, call EMU Campus Life at 734-487-3045.
