 "Photo: Carol Moore")
A group of UW-Oshkosh students attended the Titan LEAD event on Friday and Saturday at Reeve Memorial Union to take part in leadership workshops and personal growth activities.
Interested participants had to be Oshkosh students with previous leadership experiences, according to RUB program adviser and Titan LEAD facilitator, Chelsea Redger.
“It is an application process as well as an interview process, so students who wanted to participate needed to fill out an application which consisted of a short form, a résumé and a small essay on someone that they identified with as a leader and why,” Redger said.
“And then they had about a 15 minute interview.”
About 20 people applied for the leadership experience this year. Of those applicants, 14 candidates were chosen to be a part of the elite program.
“We try and keep our numbers between 12 and 15 in order to have the experience be very personalized for students,” Redger said.
The students who were accepted into the Titan LEAD program needed to show a desire to improve themselves and to take their skills to the next level.
The participants spent the weekend with fellow leaders learning tips for studying and future careers. They also engaged in activities that helped them optimize their strengths and talents, according to Redger.
David Rathsack, a junior at Oshkosh who attended the retreat last weekend, said finding his top strengths was his favorite part of the program.
“It showed me a lot about who I am as a person and how I can pursue to enhance my strengths and talents in my leadership style,” he said.
As chairperson of the University Speaker Series and lead marketing intern for Reeve Memorial Union, Rathsack saw the Titan LEAD program as a good opportunity to advance his skills.
“There is always room for improvement; nobody is perfect” he said. “I wanted to develop my leadership abilities for my internship and for my future career opportunities.”
The book “Radical Leap: A Personal Lesson in Extreme Leadership” by Steve Farber was also incorporated into the weekend’s curriculum. Rathsack said the LEAP methodology is one of the skills he learned while attending the program.
“I took a LEAP,” Rathsack said. “By LEAP, I mean I learned to ‘Love,’ ‘Energize,’ ‘be Audacious,’ and ‘Prove’ my radical leadership to others around me.”
Leadership is important because it inspires others to develop positive changes, according to Rathsack.
“I learned how other leaders with different strengths than my own can complement one another to bring forth a positive change,” he said.
Rathsack said that the Titan LEAD program taught him to focus his strengths as a leader in order to be effective.
“If I only focus on my weaknesses I am not able to grow to my potential because I neglect my natural God-given abilities,” Rathsack said.
Being a good leader is a big part of Rathsack’s future goals, and for Oshkosh junior and Titan LEAD participant, Kati Hinds, it is something she strives for every day.
“It’s something I am continually working on, and it really gives meaning to many aspects of my life,” Hinds said.
Hinds is the incoming chairperson for the University Speaker Series and the student leader for an alternative spring break to Washington D.C. She wanted to attend Titan LEAD to better her leadership skills.
“I think you always need to be bettering yourself and leadership is something I take pride in, so this was the perfect opportunity,” Hinds said.
Hinds enjoyed the atmosphere of the program and learned a lot about her particular strengths and weaknesses that will help her succeed in many aspects of her life.
“Overall the experience was one of the best in my involvement career at UW-Oshkosh,” Hinds said.
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