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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 13, 2004)
Campus leadership promotes real-world skills The University has 200 opportunities for student involvement with leadership By Chelsea Duncan Senior News Reporter Numerous opportunities exist on campus for students to gain leader ship skills, whether through student government or department commit tees, and it's just a matter of finding them. According to http://uoleader ship.uoregon.edu, a University sponsored Web site, there are about 200 possibilities for University lead ership involvement, not only for current students but incoming stu dents as well. EMU Marketing Coordinator Lee LaTour, who spearheaded the Web site project winter term, said the site was created to provide a comprehen sive resource for students interested in leadership. "There was no central way or cen tral place for students to find out where these opportunities are," she said. She said leadership is important in many career choices, and learning how to work with and direct others is not only a resume builder but a good way to learn about one's self. "A big part of leadership is also about how you're conducting your self," she said. Campus leaders agree that getting this kind of experience has many ben efits, including gaining communica tion and management skills, which can benefit the community and help a student's chances at getting a job af ter graduation. "I feel like the work I'm doing right now is the most important practical experience," ASUO President Maddy Melton said. "I think it's a phenome nal supplement to the work we do in the classroom." Melton said she originally got in volved in ASUO for the sake of under represented communities, such as the lesbian, gay, transgender and queer community. But she said she soon re alized that she had a general passion for leading and helping others be come leaders. "For me, it's not really about lead ership," she said. "But I have a passion for leadership development." Alpha Phi Omega's Service Chair woman Katie Fox said she likes be ing a part of decision-making processes at the University. Alpha Phi Omega is a co-ed service organi zation that works with community services such as FOOD for Lane County and the American Red Cross. "It's definitely good to have a say in what's going on at the University," she said. Fox said she felt isolated from the campus community before she en gaged in leadership opportunities. Now she organizes community projects and said the position has "A big part of leadership is also about how you're conducting yourself." Lee LaTour EMU Marketing Coordinator taught her how to guide others to improve the community, which she hopes will continue once she graduates. "I think that's how the world ends up changing," she said. Junior business major Stuart Bessieres said he's learned how to better communicate ideas and per suade people through his leader ship position. Bessieres is director or external relations for the Univer sity Finance Association, which is a group of students interested in the finance industry. His job is to reach out to companies and bring in fi nance representatives to speak to the group. He also leads fund-rais ing initiatives and coordinates op portunities for students to visit companies, he said. "It's really improved my team work skills," he said, adding that the role has also boosted his self-confi dence. "I have a role here that peo ple lookup to." Senior Matt Yeow is director of the International Student Association, which also means he is this year's main coordinator for International Week, one of the University's largest cultural events. He said peer leadership can be "trickier" than other forms of leader ship and that it's important to strike a balance between being a leader and a team worker. "Over here, you need to make sure that you don't just bark orders," he said. He said students should build team leadership skills because many busi nesses today are leaning toward that style of management. "More and more businesses are realizing that this is the way to go," he said. For more information on campus leadership positions, visit http:// uoleadership. uoregon.edu. Contact the higher education/student life/student affairs reporter at chelseaduncan@dailyemerald.com. Tim Kupsick Freelance Photographer Multimedia design student Jade Bunker (left), EMU Marketing Coordinator Lee LaTour (center), and computer and information science major Julian Pscheid (right) show off the University Leadership Web site they created, which took them three months to build. 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