The Chancellor's Student Leadership Academy at ECU

By: Kristen Edmonds, Early Assurance Recipient in Physical Therapy and Honors College junior

As a second semester junior, I’ve come to the realization that my time at ECU is almost over. I began to worry that I haven’t taken advantage of all of the opportunities that I’ve been offered while here. Too often I’ve decided against joining a club or organization because I was afraid that I wouldn’t have time for it. When Dr. Fraley sent me an email encouraging me to apply for the Chancellor’s Student Leadership Academy (CSLA), I immediately assumed the same thing. But after speaking to him about it, and learning that several other Honors College students had gone through the program with a lot of success, I decided to apply. I learned that I had been invited to join CSLA over Christmas Break, and I immediately accepted the invitation.

CSLA is a semester-long program that consists of weekly meetings, each led by a different speaker. Because each speaker is different, we get a unique lesson in leadership each week. Before our weekly meetings began, we participated in MLK Day of Service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We were assigned to work with Making Pitt Fit, a community garden in Pitt County. We spent the day learning about how the garden functions while we participated in a bit of gardening ourselves.

While I’m only about halfway through with the program, I’m incredibly glad that I decided to apply. The Chancellor’s Student Leadership Academy is exposing me to new leadership ideas and practices every week, and I leave every meeting feeling like I can take on the world. I’m always looking for ways to improve my leadership skills, and this program is giving me the resources to do so. With so much time left in the semester, I’m very excited to see what else this program has in store for me!