Applications for LEP are open now through Nov. 14.
The Life Entrepreneur Program (LEP) may seem like its all business, but past participants in the program can attest that it is so much more. “It helped point me in the right direction for what I want in my future and helped me make clear goals for the short and long term,” one participant stated.
Run out of the office of New Student & Transition Programs, this sophomore experience program is designed to help students find the direction, creativity and passion in their lives that will help them succeed at Elon and beyond.
To be a “Life Entrepreneur” is to be a person with vision for a holistic and fulfilling life, a person whose values permeate through school, work, and all that they do. The main reading for LEP, “Life Entrepreneurs: Ordinary People Creating Extraordinary Lives” by Christopher Gergen and Gregg Vanourek, weaves together narratives about people who take risks to become innovative leaders of their own lives. Using this text, guided by Elon faculty, peer mentors and Christopher Gergen himself, sophomore students learn how to integrate their strengths, passions, and values so they can reach their fullest potential in all areas of their lives.
LEP begins in the spring with a two-day off-campus retreat (Feb. 3-4) and continues with a one-credit Transition Strategies course throughout the first half of the spring semester. Participants will be placed into small cohorts of 10 to 12 students led by an experienced faculty member and a peer teaching assistant who have been trained by professional facilitators.
Students who took the course last spring enrolled in order to build confidence, learn about themselves, gain inspiration to live a more meaningful life, and form a plan on how to approach the future at Elon and beyond. These skills are especially important for sophomores who are making formative decisions for their remaining time at Elon.
To apply, students should email an application to nstp@elon.edu by Nov. 14. There is a $150 program fee to participate, which covers the cost of retreat travel, housing, and meals.
For questions, please contact Kim Lilienthal, coordinator of NSTP, at klilienthal@elon.edu or Rex Waters, dean of student development, at waters@elon.edu.