This week, 33 students and six facilitators ventured off to camp to kick off this semester's Life Entrepreneur Program.
The Charting Your Journey: Life Entrepreneur Program kicked off its fall programming over Fall Break. Thirty-three students, along with six faculty and student facilitators, retreated to a local camp to explore how to become life entrepreneurs, focusing on questions such as ‘Who am I?,” “Where am I going?,” and “How do I get there?” The beautiful mountain air provided a wonderful background for the cohorts to get to know each other and themselves on a deeper level. Elon University collaborated with a national leadership development company, New Mountain Ventures, to offer this innovative program for sophomore students. Charting Your Journey: Life Entrepreneur Program prepares students to craft a meaningful and flexible life plan in light of the ever-changing, fast-paced world outside Elon. Students began to learn to identify their strengths, be alert to opportunities, take measured risks, set goals and think strategically, and practice the art of reflection and renewal. These skills will help students better align their core identity with their professional and personal goals, especially in the context of their remaining years at Elon.
Participants spent Monday learning to be introspective: turning a lens on themselves to uncover who they are and the importance of their personal history in their current worldview. Learning about their own strengths, passions, and values, and having the opportunity to share this knowledge with their peers allowed for a quick connection to be formed between participants, thus allowing for a rich overall experience. The day was filled with reflection exercises, team-building activities, and ended with s’mores outside by the lake.
The focus of Day Two of the retreat shifted from “Who am I?” to “Where do I want to go?” Each student created a vision statement for an ideal future while engaging in team activities to build camaraderie within the class. The participants left with a better understanding of themselves and where they want to go in the future. Most students agree that they do not usually give themselves time for inward reflection in the ever-busy Elon environment. They appreciated the time they got to spend thinking about their future and steps they want to take now to get there, both with the time they have left at Elon and post-Elon plans.
The participants will continue with a Transitions Strategies course throughout the second half of the fall semester in order to continue to develop their visions and plans to take action in their lives, both at Elon and post-graduation.
If you are interested in participating in the program this spring, please look out for more information on the website or contact Dean Rex Waters at waters@elon.edu, or program Coordinator Anna Brown at abrown59@elon.edu.