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. The site provides information about leadership opportunities for current and prospective students.
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