By Morgan Vaughn, Senior, Integrated Educational Studies Major, Leadership Studies Minor
In the Spring of my first year at Chapman I took LEAD 101: Intro to Leadership Principles and Practices. I was looking for a class to fulfill the Values and Ethics Inquiry requirement of the General Education program, so I began asking my friends what classes they had taken that could count for that GE credit. After hearing rave reviews of LEAD 101 I thought it sounded like exactly the type of class I wanted to take. And apparently so did a lot of other people, because come my registration time the class was full. I joined the waitlist for the class thinking ‘no big deal if I don’t get in, I can always try again next semester’. But luck was on my side and I got off the waitlist! With that, LEAD 101 became one of my first GE classes.
Throughout the semester I really enjoyed the class. I learned about so many interesting people and studied what made them great leaders. I learned different models and how to use them to analyze leadership and apply them to my own life. I heard inspiring lectures from the professor and had invigorating conversations with my classmates. The class quickly became one of my favorites. As the semester drew to a close, I began to get sad that my time left in the class was limited, so I decided to enroll in another LEAD class the next semester just for fun, and after that semester I applied to add Leadership Studies as my minor so I could continue taking classes in the program. Many of the connections I made in LEAD 101 helped me get accepted and officially add my LEAD minor. And with that, LEAD 101 went from being just a GE to being the first step in declaring my minor.
I took my third LEAD class in the Spring of my sophomore year. Like the previous two, I loved the content and really got along with the professor. Through the interactive nature of the class, I got to know a lot about my professor and she got to know a lot about me. One day after class she asked me if I would be interested in meeting up outside of class to talk about some things. I said I was and a few days later we were down in the Orange Circle getting coffee and chatting. She told me that after observing how I work all semester, learning what my personal and professional interests and skills are, and reading about my career interests in my final paper she had a potential job prospect for me. We talked about an organization that she runs that facilitates leadership development workshops and works with a lot of high schools. Being someone who is interested in working in high school administration and with student leadership, she thought I would be a good fit for the job and the organization would be a good fit for me. That summer I joined the staff of the organization. And with that, LEAD 101 went from being just a GE to getting me a job that I still have today in a field that I’m passionate about.
As an incoming Senior, I am beginning to take the last few courses for my LEAD minor. I have really enjoyed and benefited so much from the classes I have taken and the experiences I have had. What I have learned is so applicable to the career I plan for, and during my Junior year I felt as if I could take this Leadership journey even farther. I knew that Chapman offered a Master of Arts in Leadership Development that took the LEAD minor to the next level, but what I didn’t know was that there was an MLD 4+1 program that allowed students to begin Masters level LEAD classes while still an undergraduate. After learning about this program from one of my professors, I decided to apply. After much research and help from connections I had made during my time as a LEAD minor, I was accepted into the program. And with that, LEAD 101 went from being just a GE to helping secure me a spot in a Master’s program (and a bonus year at Chapman).
When I walked into the first day of LEAD 101 as a First Year student, I had no idea that this class would become so much more than just a GE. As I write this, I am preparing to spend the next several weeks facilitating High School Student Leadership Camps with the organization I now work for and I am gearing up to take LEAD 505 in the Fall, the foundational course for my Master’s program, as well as LEAD 497, the capstone experience of the LEAD minor. None of this would have been possible if I hadn’t taken LEAD 101 as a GE course and kept an open mind about what it could become. My advice to all incoming students would be to embrace your GE courses as an important part of your Chapman education. You never know where the class might take you!
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