More than 126 Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College students participated in Student Leadership Training Day at the Perkinston Campus Oct. 3. The event titled “So You Think You Can Lead” evolved from summer and fall training sessions for the college’s Reflections Team (the student hospitality/recruiting team) and Student Council. This year, other student organizational leaders also attended.
Sharon White, lead admissions specialist at Gulf Coast, said the purpose of the event was to provide student leaders with team-building skills and to help them uncover their leadership potential. “Because we want the students at Gulf Coast to grow as individuals as part of their college experience, we changed the scope and focus of the activities,” she said. “Now, a greater number of students have the opportunity to learn these valuable skills.”
The schedule included groups organizing a fictitious college and then facing the difficulties in getting that college off the ground. Patrick George, guest speaker, author and character education specialist, has delivered over 1,500 motivational presentations at conferences, colleges and schools throughout the United States and Canada. Stressing character education, George includes team-building and leadership activities in his performance. During Student Leadership Training Day, George separated students into teams and gave them challenges and barriers to resolve and overcome.
“As teams faced these challenges, the natural leaders stepped forward to manage the issues,” White said. “It was a wonderful learning experience for all the students involved, giving them information they will be able to refer back to throughout their college careers and, really, throughout their lives.”
