Issue III | December 2011 & January 2012

THE LEADERSHIP LETTER

THE BUCKET LIST

It’s no secret that time is finite. No matter how great the attempt to defy death is, it remains to be the one

guarantee of human life. While death is seen by many as a de-pressing moment that beckons us closer every day, it is the beauty of life itself that illumi-nates and allows people to chase their wild-est dreams and to pursue their loftiest goals in order to achieve a sense of fulfillment. The long awaited visit from the cast of The Buried Life reminded Central Michi-gan University students of this. In the lec-ture on Nov. 28, cast members reflected on their beginning, struggles, adventures and their favorite memories thus far. Among the highlighted moments was the anecdote recalling the successful plan to not only sneak into the Playboy Mansion, but attempting to gain permission to air the episode. In the end, the cast received the okay in the form of a handwritten note from founder Hugh Heffner himself saying that while they could show it, he was not very happy with them. Another aspect that was emphasized in the lecture was the fact that failure is

sometimes inevitable. In order to illustrate this point, the members showed footage of their attempt to play basketball with the president. Even though at that time the cast didn’t succeed, the episode aired anyway because they wanted to show the importance of trying. Imagine their surprise a short time later when they unexpectedly succeeded. The lecture left a pressing question: What do you, member of LAS, want to do before you die? While the answers were about as var-ied as the people asked, common answers were found with sophomores Lydia and Anna, who want to travel to all of Europe. Vince, also a member of the sopho-more LAS class, shares a similar vision. “The last thing on my bucket list is to fly to Alicante, Spain and overlook the Medi-terranean Sea and listen to the crash of waves and know that I have had an im-pact on this world.” It was the thought-provoking visit from the cast of The Buried Life that re-minded LAS that while death is guaranteed in the end, the path leading to it is not.

By Veronica Meadows | Staff Writer

Amber Cummings“Swim with dolphins, go to The Dominican Rebulic, learn Spanish, be a LeaderShape cluster facilita-tor, and make a difference in my

students lives!”

Katie Goodwin“Walk the holy land, have a beer at a true irish pub, learn to blow glass, ride in a hot air balloon, remake the beatles "Abbey Road" photo, kiss the Blarney Stone in Ireland, visit all 50 states, skydive, go a whole day without technology, meet Tim Riggins,

and go on a last minute trip to Colorado.”

Jennifer Morneau“My top three is to go to Ireland, go skydiving, and to find the ca-reer that lets me reach my poten-

tial and embrace my passions.”

“WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE?”

The Leadership Institute’s Spring UpdateALL-LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE MEETINGThe spring 2012 LAS program meeting will take place on Friday, March 16th at 7:00 P.M. in the Powers Hall ballroom. This meeting is a protocol event, meaning class is the only excused absence. All others must be pre-approved by Dan Gaken. This meet-ing will take place immediately prior to the LAS Competition Day volunteer training.

2012 LEADERSHAPE INSTITUTEThe 2012 CMU LeaderShape Institute will take place May 7-12, 2012 at the Adventure Learning Center at Eagle Village. Leader-Shape is six intense days that will change the way you see the world. There is no cost to

attend this program, although a $50 deposit is require to reserve your place. Registration is now open at http://www.cmich.edu/cmu-lead/Programs/programs_leadershape.htm.

2012 LAS COMPETITION DAYThe 2012 LAS competition and inter-views will be held Saturday, March 17, 2012. Volunteers are needed to give tours, greet families, dine with prospec-tive students at lunch, mingle at the re-ception, and help us create a welcoming environment. A volunteer training is re-quired. Training will take place on Fri-day, March 16, 2012 at 8:00 to 9:00 P.M. following the all-Leadership Institute meeting at 7:00 P.M.

2012 LAS DEADLINE EXTENSIONOn Monday, February 13th the Leadership Institute will announce that the deadline to apply for a 2012 Leader Advancement Scholarship has been extended through Friday, February 24th. If you know high school leaders who should apply for this amazing opportunity please direct them to the Leadership Institute’s website.

FOLLOW THE LEADERSHIP INSTI-TUTE ON SOCIAL MEDIAThe easiest way to connect with the LI is through our Facebook and Twitter accounts. Find us on Facebook by searching for “CMU’s Leadership Institute,” and follow us on Twitter @CMU_Leadership

ANCHORING LEADERSHIP

By Gary Williams | Staff Writer

Three Leadership Advancement Scholarship students participated in in-forming the campus and local communi-ty through News Central 34 during Fall Semester. The roles of the three students ranged from anchoring the newscast to participating in the behind the scenes production. Two LAS students, Sean Rosi-tano, a first year LAS student and Faith Ganter, LAS junior, co-anchored the Fri-

day afternoon newscast. Both students are currently studying Broadcasting, and made it through the selection process to anchor for News Central 34. Another LAS freshmen, Christina Proulx worked behind the scenes to help with the pro-duction of News Central 34 throughout the semester as well. Each week, the co-anchors were responsible for delivering the most criti-cal information to their audience. “Each week the anchors are responsible to write our own material and rehearse it before

we go on-air” said Sean Rositano. It was their responsibility to write the script and prepare all of the content each week. Sean explained the importance of rehearsal and proper preparation before going on-air to a live show in order to perfect the message that the anchor’s deliver. On behalf of the Leadership Institute community, congratulations to Sean and Faith for anchoring the Friday afternoon News Central 34 newscast fall semester and for providing the campus with an accurate and engaging newscast.

By Sean Rositano | Staff Writer

Dan Gaken is name that is synonymous with the Leadership Institute. Gaken recently returned from a LeaderShape event at Susquehanna University in Selins-grove, Pennsylvania. Gaken served the role of Lead Facilitator, meaning he met with a group of 60 volunteer faculty members at the university, known as the Learning Community, and prepared them to facilitate the week long LeaderShape event. He goes to about five universities act-ing in this position every year. According to the Leader-Shape website, LeaderShape was “originally developed in 1986 by Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity, the Institute was designed as a means of improving campus leadership. In 1988, LeaderShape Inc. was formed as a separate not-for-profit corporation to take charge of The LeaderShape Institute and further its mission of developing young adults to lead with integrity.” The not-for-profit’s first partnership with another university outside of the University of Illinois was with the University of Michi-gan’s College of Engineering in 1992. Central Michigan University brought it to their campus first in 1999. When Gaken was a fresh-man, he participated in the life changing event. It made him realize he could help thousands of people, thus why he is now the director of the Leadership Institute and why he spent many years earnestly ap-plying to be a Lead Facilitator for LeaderShape where he could im-pact the lives of college students in order to change the way they view the world and to change the world one viewpoint at a time. Susquehanna University’s LeaderShape is special to Gaken because the entire university is only 2,500 students, which means the week-long conference really does have the power to affect the entire university because of its small size. Gaken loves traveling to other universities because it allows him to connect with other col-lege students and see that Central Michigan University students are in a class by themselves in terms of the leadership and volunteering. The Leadership Institute is one of a kind and a model for other univer-sities to follow.

LI coordinator serves as LeaderShape’s Lead Facilitator

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD

By Sean Rositano | Staff Writer

On a sunny Sunday afternoon on November 20, fourteen Leader Advance-ment Scholars were out and about raking leaves. The Elderly Focus Community Service LEAD Team, headed by Potterville Sophomore Sarah Dorian and Bryon Se-nior Lauren Atkinson, got together earlier in the semester and brainstormed many dif-ferent ways they could make a difference and help the elderly community. One of the most popular ideas was raking leaves. Dorian views the Elderly Focus

Community Service LEAD Team as a very important piece of the LAS Lead Team puzzle. “It is important to remember that the elderly have done a lot for our com-munity and that over the years they were the ones volunteering,” Dorian said. “Now it seems only fair to give back to them what they have demonstrated for us and given to others.” That is why the LEAD Team decid-ed to do an act, that in the view of those who they were assisting, was not small by any stretch of the imagination.

And with bags and rakes in hand, the fourteen LAS students left Powers Hall at 3:00 p.m. and returned at 6:00 p.m. accomplishing much. In those three hours, the students were able to rake six yards for the elderly. The leaf raking community service project to benefit the elderly was very successful, said Dorian, and she is very proud of her leaf rakers. “As a community we must come together and help others in need,” she said. “Even if it is only something little like leaf raking.”

Community Service LEAD Team rakes leaves for the elderly

By Katie Conley | Staff Writer

Manned by the Children Community Service LEAD team, “Opera-

tion Christmas Child” was a suc-cess, as they were able to raise over $250 and make over ten boxes. A project of Samaritan’s Purse, “Op-eration Christmas Child” distrib-utes gift-filled shoeboxes to needy children in 120 countries around the world. Members of the lead team sold flyers to their friends and classmates in order to raise money for the boxes. Each was sold for a dollar and then proudly displayed in the Leadership Institute, showing who donated to the cause. They also did a pop drive ac-cording to Westland freshman, Jennifer Drum. On November 8, all of the funds collected were used to shop and fill shoeboxes for needy chil-dren. Twenty dollars was spent to fill each box with toys for a boy or girl in a specific age group. “We picked out things we thought the kids would need and like,” said Grand Ledge freshman Kelcey Sherd. Along with the toys, they also includ-ed things like school supplies and necessities such

as soap and shampoo, which are much needed by the children. Despite the fun they had during shopping, the group made sure not to forget the true reason for the season, taking the time to write letters to include in each of the boxes. “Writing the letters was a good way to spread the Christmas spirit in a non-materialistic way, it’s something that will last much longer than anything we could buy,” added Drum. “Operation Christmas Child” is one that was able to touch the hearts of not only the children re-ceiving the toys but anyone it touched, everyone in-volved will really have a merry Christmas.

By Chelsey Colston | Staff Writer

Over 300 Leadership Stu-dents heard the message of this year’s Leadership Series Speaker Ryan Fewins-Bliss on Monday, No-vember 30. Ryan Fewins-Bliss spoke on leadership in difficult times, the role individuals play in larger organiza-tions, and ten things he has learned about leadership since leaving Cen-tral Michigan University. “Leadership roles only begin now (in college) and Ryan is evidence of how one’s leadership lens evolves over time through a lived experi-ence,” said the Leadership Minor Ad-visor Eric Bushlen. “He brought back to CMU some great ‘life lessons’ that can only be learned after graduation. But, now all 300 students are just a bit better prepared for the future” Fewins-Bliss spoke to five Leadership 200 classes, the Leader-ship 100 class and held the evening lecture event. “He had a very interactive presentation because he involved the audience and combined well-known leadership theories with current events,” said Junior Jacob White after attending the evening event. Fewins-Bliss was selected by Bushlen with the help of the Execu-tive Director of CMU Alumni Rela-tions. After explaining the param-eters for the speaking engagement, Fewins-Bliss’s name came up. Bushlen met with Fewins-Bliss and had known him previously through working at SVSU and decid-ed that he was the best option for this year’s leadership series speaker. The “Leadership in Resi-dency” program will again be held in the spring and is funded by the EHS - Nash Family Foundation and the EHS Vending Fund. John Kaczynski is lined up for speaking this April on the role of leadership and the creation of public policy. John is also CMU alumni and currently works at SVSU as a politi-cal science faculty member.

Leadership Series speaker Ferwins-Bliss shares post-gradution advice

Leadership Spotlight

Spotlight on LAS senior Chelsea RichterBy Andrew Kreiner | Staff Writer

Q: What is your Major & Minor?A: I am a Spanish education major with minors in speech education and leadership.

Q: What are you involved in on or off campus?A: I’m involved in Alpha Sigma Tau sorority and Greek Intervarsity Christian Fellowship.

Q: What is your favorite part of being a leader on campus?A: My favorite part about being a leader on campus means there are people who look up to me. With that, I have the power to positively influence others and hope-fully make an impact for the better. Q: What is one of your fondest memories of LAS?

A: My fondest memory of LAS is giving Dr. D a stand-ing ovation every time he walked in the room.

Q: What made you choose to come to Central to study?A: In all honesty, I didn’t want to come to Central. After receiving this scholarship I decided I had to try it for at least a year and then I could transfer. But a week into my freshman year, I knew I would be here for good!

Q: What is your favorite place to go out to eat in Mount Pleasant?A: Applebee’s half off apps!

Q: Where do you hope to be in life five years from now?A: Five years from now, I have no idea where I will be. I’ll seize every opportunity I get and then let you know where that takes me.

By Brittany Wright | Staff Writer

Professor Catherine To-bin, is a petite, hot chili pepper rated, yoga teaching Irish native who has both a deep passion and a great knowledge of history. Professor Tobin may be one of the longest standing LAS professors, as she has been a pro-fessor since LAS began. She is the professor of the American Ex-perience with the inter-workings of historical leadership into the curriculum. She was asked about her favorite part of working with the Leadership Institute and teaching the LAS students. “I like that the students are great with participation and enthusiasm (even the non-history majors). It’s easier to teach them that way,” she said. One fact that Tobin’s stu-dents may not know about is that she is a yoga and pilates instruc-tor. This is one of her favorite ac-tivities outside of the classroom. Professor Tobin is even influ-enced by some of the grounding philosophies of yoga, which are governed by Hinduism. “Do no harm onto your fellow man kind” is an ideology that especially speaks to her. As a young girl, Tobin wanted to be a nurse. Around that time period in Ireland, women were not looked at as being able to hold such high positions as a doctor. Therefore, to still be able to help people, the next best thing would be to become a nurse, she said. Tobin’s favorite child-hood memory is going to the mountains every year during the summer time with her family. “ “The mountains were just so beautiful,” Tobin said. From laughing at her own jokes to bringing a relatable insight to history, Professor Cath-erine Tobin is one that you can’t help but leave smiling.

Spotlight LAS profes-sor Catherine Tobin

Spotlight on LAS sophomore Zach KowalskiBy Chelsey Colston | Staff Writer

Q: What is your major & minor?A: Currently, I am going to double major in business management and Spanish, with a double minor in event management and leadership.

Q: What are you other activities are you involved in on or off campus?A: I am currently working for the Thorpe Front Desk and the CMU Ad-missions Office. I am also an HON 100 mentor along with (last semester) Scholarship Chair for Phi Kappa Tau and (currently) president of Phi Kappa Tau. I am also involved in a leadership program outside of CMU for High School Leadership through Michi-gan Association of Student Councils/

Honors Society (aka MASC/MAHS). I volunteer with them on their college board to help run conferences and meetings (College Volunteer Facilita-tor Corps aka CVFC).

Q: What is your favorite part of being a leader on campus?A: I love being able to interact with so many different people on campus and getting to know people, what they value in their life and what is important to them. I always like it when people feel comfortable with me to talk about anything or even to come to me with a question. I think it is great to be able to help and solve other people’s conflicts and help guide them to their happiness.

Q: What is your favorite memory

made thus far at Central?A: I don’t think I could even name my favorite memory at CMU. It has been such a great experience overall. I would say the daily interactions and seeing people on campus when I walk to work or class. It makes me really happy the CMU has a good close knit relationship among its students. I love the little things that people can say or do because it can brighten my day ev-ery time.

Q: What are you most excited for during Holiday break?A: Although I am super busy, I am excited to relax and not have any big commitments. If I wanted to sit and watch TV all day, I could and not feel guilty about it. I never have enough

time to just sit down and relax, so for sure this break will be focused on re-laxing.

Q: When did you stop believing in Santa Clause?A: Honestly, I do not really remem-ber when I stopped believing. I think around 4th or 5th grade, but I may have played it out until 6th or 7th grade because I had younger cousins who believed in Santa.

Q: What is your favorite Christmas movie?A: I love the clay animation mov-ies about Rudolf. I don’t think I have ever sat down and watched the entire movie, but I really do like watching it whenever it come on the TV.

Please contact Ashley Miller (248-755-2564) or Angela DiGiovanni (586-876-1073) with any comments or article ideas.

cmuleadershipletter@gmail.com

Meet LAS freshman Samantha JohnsonBy Chelsey Colston | Staff Writer

Q: What is your major & minor?A: Math with minors in leadership and reading or art

Q: What are you other activities are you involved in on or off campus?A: Red Cross Club, Mt. Pleasant Area YAC, GO (rso), LAS, and Sibs Week-end Planning Committee.

Q: What is your favorite part of being a leader on campus?A: My favorite part of being a leader on campus is being able to meet new people and being able to make a difference on campus. Its great feeling know-ing that you are an important part of such a wonderful community like CMU.

Q: What is your favorite memory made thus far at Central?A: It’s very hard for me to pick just one memory to call my favorite. Every-day here I have made amazing memories with my friends and cohort. If I had to choose one, I would say spending time with my cohort at the Con-nections Conference.

Q: What are you most excited for during Holiday break?A: I am most excited to spend some time with my family over holiday break and decorate the tree with my brother.

Q: When did you stop believing in Santa Clause?A: I think I stopped believing in Santa in 4th grade. I remember having an argument with a boy saying Santa was real and he told me he had proof to show me that he wasn’t. Turned out he had legit proof...

Q: What is your favorite Christmas movie?A: My favorite Christmas movie would definitely be ‘White Christmas.’ It is kind of a family tradition of ours to all get together and watch it.

By Andrew Kreiner | Staff Writer

Q: What is your Major & Minor?A: Human Resources Management and Leadership

Q: What are you involved in on or off campus?A: CMU club paintball team, Lead-ership Resource consultant, Career services REACH advisor, Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

Q: What is your favorite part of being a leader on campus?A: Through my involvements I meet a ton of people. One of my favorite things is that I can’t spend more than 10 minutes on campus without seeing someone that I know and I think that is really cool. Q: What is one of your fondest memo-ries of LAS?A: The LAS retreat my sophomore

year at Spring Hill. That was an ex-tremely good time.

Q: What made you choose to come to Central to study?A: I was completely torn between CMU and MSU when I was in high school. I really loved CMU and after finding out about the LAS scholarship it really solidi-fied choice of coming to CMU

Q: What is your favorite place to go out to eat in Mt. Pleasant?A: It’s a tie between Menna’s and Bennigan’s

Q: Do you prefer boxers or briefs?A: Depends on the day, but I have more boxers than Briefs.

Q: Where do you hope to be in life five years from now?A: I’d like to find myself in a job I en-joy, hopefully still in Michigan.

Spotlight on junior Spencer Dean

By Kara Hattemer-Plant | Staff Writer

Two members of the Leadership Institute have gained attention on campus for the cre-ation of a new RSO, Red Cup Shred, a group that unites long boarders on campus. Loryn Roberson, Beaver-ton sophomore, holds the position of treasurer and was instrumental in the creation and constitution writing. Leadership Programs Co-ordinator and long boarding enthu-siast (not really), Ted Grossnickle, is the advisor of “Shred Cup.” The RSO states, “We promise to promote the freedom and image of long boarding in a positive light and to ruthlessly shred the world with no regrets,” in their mission statement on OrgSync.

Red Cup Shred is a very unique group and a great way to meet new people who share a com-mon passion. Members stay connected primarily through their Facebook group, “Central Mich. Red Cup Shred.” When members want to go for a long board ride, they often post in the group to see if anyone would like to join. People also post about new long boarding brands and give advice about products. The group has already united many long boarders on campus. Meetings are held Sun-day nights at 9 P.M. and more information regarding meetings can be found on OrgSync and the Facebook page. Red Cup Shred is currently planning a race to be held this spring.

LAS members create new long boarding RSO, “Shred Cup”

By Justin Sutherland | Staff Writer

Freshman Sterling Ouel-lette, sophomore Brandon Kieft and junior John Wallace’s family tree is quite outstanding in that they are one that seems to be very close. John Wallace is a junior from Monroe and is pursuing a ma-jor in Health Fitness and minors in Leadership and Exercise Science. His mentee is Brandon Kieft. He is a sophomore from Montague and is undecided in which major to choose. His mentee is Sterling Ouellette. Sterling is a freshman from Bay City and plans to major in Sports Management with a minor in Leadership. This family tree is a strong one in that each mentee and men-tor pair gets along very well and has become this close because of the mentor program. Sterling said that having a person help him who has

experienced everything that he will experience as an LAS freshman has made everything much easier. When asked if this family tree had any plans for the new year, Wallace said that while busy sched-ules only allowed this family tree to meet all together once, he hopes that this new semester will let them all to meet much more as a family tree. “Being a mentor your sophomore year is like being a par-ent to some people,” said Wallace. “You have a new friend your age that is new to the school and your program so you can show them the ins and outs of the university and the LAS program. “This is important to the freshmen in my opinion because I was taught about bump cards, credit and no credit and drop cards. This responsibility as a mentor is taken personally and is a great sense of accomplishment.”

Family tree appreciates closeness