The Center for Leadership has welcomed a new group to the Leaders in a Global World Living Learning Community. Focused on leadership and growth, the LLC looks forward to this year as they grow together and individually as leaders at Elon.
A large part of college life is the communities on campus. Different communities can be found in social groups, classes, organizations, and, most importantly, campus housing.
Elon University supports a number of housing options for students, including Living Learning Communities (LLCs).
Residential Learning Communities consist of groups of students residing in the same residential area, interacting academically and socially with each other and with faculty, and sharing the same passion, interest, or academic focus.
The Center for Leadership provides resources for the Leaders in a Global World LLC in the form of staff and student mentors, a budget for events, as well as offering the Center for Leadership office as a space to relax.
The Leaders in a Global World LLC primarily includes first-year students with several sophomore mentors, along with a participating residential assistant. Dana Pursley, associate director of the Center for Leadership, acts as the advisor for the LLC.
“Leaders in a Global World was designed and created to provide an opportunity for students interested and passionate about leadership to live together and explore leadership in the context of a residential community,” Pursley said.
Participating residents are challenged to grow in their leadership, not only on personal levels, but on a group scale. They are encouraged to apply that growth to their lives and other communities.
The Leaders in a Global World LLC is located in East Neighborhood on the second floor of Building B.
Jack Taylor, resident assistant for the Leaders in a Global World, shared hopes for this year’s residents in the Leaders in a Global World LLC. “I am looking to see the growth in the students from the day they moved in to the day that they move out,” Taylor said. “I’m really hoping to see them take on the areas they are not as confident in and push themselves to improve.”
“I’m really hoping to see them take on the areas they are not as confident in and push themselves to improve.”
The Leaders in a Global World residents are given a Leadership Passport to complete throughout the year. The passport includes required participation in a variety of cultural, leadership, and neighborhood events across campus. Another required event is this month’s LLC Kickoff to welcome residents of all of Elon’s living learning communities to campus.
Following the kickoff this year, the Leaders in a Global World ate dinner with Pursley to start the year off getting to know each other. Pursley elaborated on the importance of socialization in the community, not only between mentors and students, but between the residents themselves.
“My favorite part of LGW over the years is seeing the relationships and connections students make as a result of living together that continue not only during their time at Elon but as alumni,” Pursley said. “I have LGW students who have lived together all four years, have created life-long friendships and bonds, and support each other in all of their accomplishments and life milestones.”
The Leaders in a Global World LLC completed a retreat, which included participating in a low ropes experience with The Elon Challenge.
“The Elon Challenge provides the opportunity for residents to connect and learn outside of their space by challenging them to try new things and take risks. Leadership lessons are embedded into outdoor learning and education – it’s a great pairing of the natural world and leadership!” Pursley said.
As part of the retreat, the residents created Encourage the Heart jars to share encouraging and inspiring notes with each other throughout the year. Encourage the Heart jars were personalized by each resident. Each jar has individual names, and was placed outside of doors.
Other residents are encouraged to write kind notes to each other, and to place those notes in the intended individuals jar.
The Leaders in a Global World looks forward to the upcoming Intersect: Diversity and Leadership Conference. Residents are required to attend at least two sessions, which are focused on the intersections of leadership and diversity.
Residents are also required to attend four of the Center for Leadership’s Leadershops. Leadershops are interactive leadership workshops that are open to all Elon students to advance their leadership knowledge and skills. Leadershops help students understanding themselves as leaders, how to work effectively with others and how to create change.
The LLC events, Leadershops, speakers and socialization all work together to create a community that is dedicated to each other and to their leadership.
“I’ve already learned a lot from just listening to my residents, since they each bring a unique and valuable perspective to the community, so I can’t wait to see what that means for the rest of the year,” said Taylor. “I cannot wait to share all that we do this upcoming year.”
Visit the Center for Leadership website for more information on the Leaders in a Global World LLC, and to keep up with what the LLC is doing, follow the LLC on Instagram.