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Nelson Mandela. Winston Churchill. Mother Teresa. These are names associated with powerful leadership. But what if your best example of leadership is your mom, or your fourth-grade teacher, or the kid down the street?

Those involved in Nazareth鈥檚 new leadership certificate program, part of a larger student leadership initiative, know that leadership takes many forms. Director of Student Activities and Leadership聽Carey Backman, who oversees the program, says, 鈥淲e don鈥檛 need students to describe leadership in the exact same way. We want them to say what it means to them.鈥�

According to Backman, an effective strategy for expanding students鈥� notions of leadership is to ask them who they consider to be a leader. 鈥淰ery often,鈥� she says, 鈥渢hey say, 鈥榤y dad,鈥� or 鈥榤y uncle,鈥� or 鈥榤y grandma.鈥欌�� After exploring what makes those people good leaders, Backman says, students no longer feel bound to the concept of a leader as the head of an organization, company, or country.

She notes, 鈥淪ometimes the very first step in shifting their understanding is to let students know they can be leaders鈥攁nd then helping them develop that belief system.鈥� One person who developed that understanding is Jennifer Lachell 鈥�15, one of three inaugural participants in the program.

鈥淲hen I graduated from high school I was shy,鈥� says Lachell. 鈥淚 was one of the quietest kids in class. Being involved in the leadership program helped me become confident.鈥�

Backman confirms Lachell鈥檚 story. 鈥淛ennifer was very unsure of herself,鈥� she says. 鈥淪he鈥檚 grown a huge amount in the years I鈥檝e known her. The components of the leadership program are responsible for a good portion of that.鈥�

Lachell, who graduated last spring and is a sales development representative at Skyhigh Networks, nods. 鈥淭he leadership training has really carried over into my career,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 more professional at a younger age. If I encounter a problem, I can think it through logically and make a strategic decision.鈥�

The program that had such a positive effect on Lachell鈥檚 life is part of a larger student leadership initiative. The overarching initiative aims to encourage student leaders to focus on their commitment to diversity and apply their leadership skills beyond Nazareth College鈥檚 open doors. Backman believes it helps students discover new themes and thoughts through special events, such as an annual conference, as well as through the leadership program.

The program involves earning three sequential certificates, each requiring that students take core workshops, an elective, and a service component. The first certificate, called Emerging Leader, focuses on personal empowerment and the acquisition of leadership skills, such as public speaking and active listening. The second, Engaged Leader, emphasizes learning to lead in group settings through workshops on topics like group dynamics and strategic planning. The third, Established Leader, challenges students to take their learning into the wider world and requires that they complete a capstone project or presentation.

By promoting participation in clubs, organizations, sports teams, student government, and other activities, the leadership program allows students to develop their skills in a variety of ways, thereby preparing them for internships and careers.

Communication skills, group work, constructive criticism, and trade competence are strongly emphasized within the program, thus ensuring that students are ready for the future. 鈥淣azareth prides itself on its career preparation,鈥� Backman says. Students practice the skills by participating in whatever activity appeals to them. 鈥淚t鈥檚 knowledge plus application,鈥� she notes.

Kevin Worthen, vice president for student development, agrees. He says that whether students go on to graduate schools, internships, jobs, or leadership roles in civic organizations, 鈥渢heir active participation in this program will provide the platform and vocabulary for discussing their leadership development over time.鈥�

To ensure that the leadership program is relevant to life beyond Nazareth, Backman says, members of the leadership team take two steps. First, they work with the Career Services Office. Second, they confirm that the program aligns with the experiential learning component of a Nazareth education in which students develop, reflect upon, articulate, and apply their personal social values.

One way students can fulfill their experiential learning requirement is to earn a leadership certificate. 鈥淭he two programs incorporate similar values and have the same structure,鈥� says Backman. 鈥淔or example, for a program to count for experiential learning, it must have a reflective component: you have to consider your experience鈥攈ow it affects you now and will influence your thinking later. In the same way, every time students take a leadership workshop they have to reflect and address questions about how they鈥檒l use what they learn beyond college.鈥�

The program emphasizes that leadership is not just about individual capability. 鈥淲e help our students understand who they are as leaders within the context of a group setting,鈥� says Backman. Because its focus is on leadership in an interpersonal context, the program is based on relational leadership. According to the Handbook for Student Leadership, relational leadership is a 鈥渞elational and ethical process of people together attempting to create positive change.鈥�

For Stephanie Adams 鈥�15, another inaugural student who is now a Fulbright Scholar teaching English in Taiwan, the relational model was a good fit. In her personal leadership statement, Adams noted that her understanding of leadership involves 鈥渃onstant learning and evolving through direct contact with others.鈥�

But relationships with others aren鈥檛 the only ones that matter. The program also highlights the importance of students鈥� relationships with themselves. 鈥淪elf-awareness is really at the root of how the students develop their approach,鈥� says Backman.

That aspect of the program resonated with Adams as well. 鈥淚 was prompted to complete the certificate because I wanted to find out more about myself as a leader, including my own leadership style,鈥� she says.

Worthen also acknowledges leadership style differences among students. 鈥淪ome students will recognize that instead of being in charge, they鈥檇 rather be a good supporter,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a nuance about themselves students may discover through the program.鈥� Backman says the goal is to have students say, 鈥淚 know this about myself and this is how I put it all together.鈥�

At the same time that the program encourages students to discern what their own leadership style is, it also teaches them what leadership is not. 鈥淢ost students come in understanding leadership as a position,鈥� says Backman. 鈥淲hat we鈥檙e teaching is that it鈥檚 the behavior and the work rather than the position that helps you develop your leadership abilities.鈥� She notes that students are surprised when they realize that leadership isn鈥檛 necessarily indicated by a title.

Another revelatory concept the program emphasizes is that leadership can be learned. Backman says she had one student who insisted that leadership was inherent and that a person can鈥檛 do anything to develop it. 鈥淚 tease him about that now,鈥� she says, 鈥渂ecause he has become a facilitator of one of our leadership workshops.鈥� Those workshops聽include tactics for handling conflict, inclusion, diversity, and many other elements of leadership.

Learning about these facets of leadership is intriguing for students because of Nazareth鈥檚 personalized approach. 鈥淭he program is customizable to allow them to build on strengths while filling gaps,鈥� says Worthen. 鈥淚t has core elements, but also contains electives they can use to explore their particular interests. And they can move through it at their own pace. As a result, content and timing are both individualized.鈥�

Nazareth is able to take a personalized approach to leadership studies because it鈥檚 not a huge school, Worthen says. 鈥淥ur size really helps us out in this regard,鈥� he notes. 鈥淪tudents can develop and nurture those relationships, both with faculty and staff on campus and with trustees in the community, at a more intimate level.鈥� Worthen offers an example of the personalized approach: Nazareth President Daan Braveman facilitates one of the workshops. 鈥淭o have that kind of access, not only to the College鈥檚 leadership but to the lessons of leadership that he will share, is quite special on any college campus,鈥� he says.

鈥淭his program is going to be one of those wonderful things our students will discover,鈥� Worthen notes. 鈥淚 think when alumni meet they鈥檒l say, 鈥榊ou graduated from Naz? Did you do the leadership program?鈥欌�� Unlike other institutions, many of which offer leadership programs to their students, Nazareth aims to include all students in its program, regardless of difference in leadership style.

The program鈥檚 added value means Nazareth will be expanding it almost exponentially over the next five years, says Worthen. 鈥淚 believe we鈥檒l find that as we continue to grow the program, our students will demand and expect more from it.鈥�

As the program matures, so will the students it serves. 鈥淔or us,鈥� says Backman, 鈥渨hat鈥檚 really important is for them to believe they can lead. We鈥檒l develop that by helping them understand who they are鈥攕trengths, abilities, what they still need to learn.鈥�

In other words, to benefit from Nazareth鈥檚 leadership program, students don鈥檛 need to be Nelson Mandela or Mother Teresa; they just need to be students at Nazareth.

鈥淎nyone can be a leader,鈥� says Backman. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 need to be particularly loud or visible. Just participate!鈥�

Joanie Eppinga is a freelance writer and editor in Spokane, Washington. Additional reporting was provided by Taylor Wroblewski '16.