In the
rush of thesis papers, senior seminars and internship opportunities,
15 seniors have chosen to set aside an hour each week for the Keystone
Leaders program, offered by the Center for Student Involvement and
Leadership (CSIL).
Keystone Leaders is a seven-week program, which ran from Oct. 2
to last Wednesday, designed to develop leadership qualities for
graduating seniors, said Dr. Jim Street Jr., associate director
of CSIL and creator of the program, Monday.
Students met every Wednesday from 5-6 p.m. in the Calloway Peak
Room in W.H. Plemmons Student Union.
“This leadership experience is the final piece for college
students that will hold their college experiences together,”
Street said. “Students have the opportunity to reflect on their
years in college and gather new insights as they prepare to venture
beyond Appalachian.”
The goal is when seniors go to apply for either graduate school
or a job, they will not only be able to tell what experiences they
had while an undergraduate, but why they did it, what the experience
was about and what that says about themselves, Street said.
The use of the word keystone as a theme for the program, as well
as the individual program names that draw onto the keystone theme,
is a metaphor for the undergraduate experience, Street said.
“From the first day as a freshman up until graduation, [the
student] is creating his own passageway,” he said. “Experiences
build the foundation, with the students, on graduation day, finally
going through the archway.”
In “The Voussiors” program on Oct. 23, Matt Godfrey, a
graduate of Appalachian State University’s class of 1998, talked
to the group about how to transition into post-college life. “[Godfrey]
basically said that you may know exactly what you want to be doing
in 5-10 years or have no idea, but it’s all about the journey,
not the destination,” Street said.
During the “Masons for Service” program Nov. 6, seniors
discussed leaving the Appalachian community, going on to a new community
and how to serve that next community.
Street addressed the problem of students taking the first job offered
to them after graduation, no matter what it is, through “The
Foundation” program.
“It’s important to know what you value and find out what
companies value in order to find a good match,” he said.
Other programs included: “Introduction to Keystone;” “Building
an Arcade,” focusing on getting to know the other students;
“The Mortar,” focusing on language and how it is used;
and “Making Your Passage,” focusing on how to take all
the students have learned with them after graduation.
Street also makes a point of asking the seniors what they have not
done in Boone yet but want to do. While this year’s group had
no trips because of bad weather, groups in the past have gone to
the rock colony and walked around campus to all of the students’
favorite places. |
