LEAD participant takes leadership skills abroad.
Morgan Abate’s passion for leadership was rewarded this year when the Center for Leadership presented her with a grant to study abroad in Costa Rica for Elon’s Winter Term. The award inspired Abate to pay close attention to the cultural surroundings, her studies, and the native people she encountered while in Costa Rica.
One of the most important lessons she says she has taken away from her time with the Center for Leadership is awareness that she can make a difference in the world. “If the Center for Leadership believed in my ability to accomplish the things I said I wanted to, then why shouldn’t I?” Abate said.
As Abate begins Tier II of the LEAD Program, she will be working to improve her group leadership skills, which she will be able to apply to her upcoming semester-long study abroad trip to Ecuador. After her Elon experience abroad, Abate plans on staying an extra two months to complete an internship in a different part of the country.
Abate says her work with the Center for Leadership has encouraged her to step outside her comfort zone, believe in her abilities as a leader and really grow. She explains that the skills she has learned make a difference in how she thinks about her future and will be applied and of value to whatever field she enters.
“I have appreciated how Morgan has actively engaged in the LEAD Program and then utilizes those skills as she demonstrates her leadership here and abroad,” said Steve Mencarini, director of the Center for Leadership.
In addition to her work with the Center for Leadership, Abate is also one of Elon’s Periclean Scholars. She has helped her class of Periclean Scholars reach out and engage with their country of focus.
Abate is also a member of The Pendulum and plans to continue writing through a blog while traveling, learning and leading in Ecuador.