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The student leadership program at Grand View is a great opportunity for students to meet new people and work on their leadership abilities.

Jessica Haggerty is a Grand View alumna that spent time in the student leadership program. As a commuter student, she was looking to get involved and spend more time on campus.

“I wanted to feel more connected with Grand View,” Haggerty said. “It introduced me to a bunch of people, one being my roommate now.”

Krister Strandskov also participated in the program. He says leadership wasn’t something he planned on being a part of when he came to Grand View.

“My first year here I wasn’t super involved,” Strandskov said. “Grand View encourages you to get involved. I met some people in the student ministry team and I wanted to be a part of that, so I applied.”

Kent Schornack, the director of the student leadership program, said that about 105 students make up 11 different teams. Schornack said there are two main goals for the program: to develop their leadership and to create a positive difference on the Grand View campus.

Schornack said that the student leadership program has also shown a lot of growth in the 11 years he has been at Grand View.

“When I first came here, I think there were maybe six or seven leadership teams,” Schornack said.

Schornack said that there have been many additions to the leadership organization. Multicultural ambassadors and peer counselors are just two of the teams that have been added.

No matter which team students are on, all the leadership qualities they learn can help them move up the corporate ladder in their jobs outside of college.

Schornack said that the two things employers look for the most, beyond just a college degree, are people with leadership abilities and people who have a good understanding of working with diversity.

“Leadership helped me expand the horizons and break out of my shell a little bit more,” Haggerty said. “It helped me explore different ways of meeting people, opening up to them, and gaining trust with them.”

Haggerty currently works at Camp Sunnyside in Des Moines. She said that when she first started out she would step back and follow what others said.

“Grand View leadership helped me because now I’m a cabin leader and running the staff,” Haggerty said. “Just being able to be that person in charge, leadership helped me with that.”

Jessica Short, another Grand View alumna said that working on student leadership also allowed her to learn the value of listening to others, in order to work through issues as a team.

“They all have different ideas from you and you have to be able to listen to those ideas and come up with a compromise that works for everyone,” Short said.

All three former student leaders said they enjoyed the time they spent in the program and would encourage current students to get involved as well.

“The connections you make are lifelong and they’re really incredible,” Short said. “It helps bridge the gap between what you’re learning in the classroom and what you’re learning in real life.”