The Emerging Leaders Academic Success Program helps beginning business students adjust to college life. Academic advisor and program director Whitney Thompson told The Daily Cougar what ELASP does to help its students succeed.
The Daily Cougar: Why do you think it’s important for students to learn how to lead themselves?
Whitney Thompson: It’s important for students to learn how to lead themselves because in order to be an effective leader, one must know who they are in order to learn and know who others are.
TDC: What are the major goals of the ELASP?
WT: The major goals of the Emerging Leaders Academic Success Program are to assist new students — including both first-time-in-college freshmen and transfer students — to UH Bauer College with transitioning into the University and more specifically Bauer, in hopes that they start off their first year with a strong GPA. I’m happy to report that the average GPA of students in the program, after their first year at Bauer, was well above a 3.0 GPA. Studies show that student engagement is an important key as to how well a student does at an institution and also in retaining that student at that institution. My hope is that when students join ELASP, their transition to the college is smooth and that they are introduced to other new students so that they can start to feel connected while also starting to build their community through networking. During the (fall) semester, ELASP focuses primarily on the transition: study skills, time management, goal setting, et cetera. Then (in) the (spring) semester, we start to focus on pulling out the ‘Emerging Leaders’ aspect of the title by focusing on developing leadership skills and speak more on becoming business leaders.
TDC: What will go on during the workshops, and how often do they occur?
WT: About eight to nine workshops are offered each semester, and a student is expected to attend at least three of their choice each semester. They are all about 50 minutes to one hour long. The workshops in the fall semester focus primarily on — as stated above — study skills, time management, goal setting, research and writing, et cetera. In the spring, the workshops focus on money management, networking, getting involved (and) leadership development.
TDC: Why do you think community service is important for business students?
WT: Community service and/or volunteering is important because it is a way to serve others and allows you to create a servant’s heart. Being a leader is essentially serving others, and when a student learns to give back, it makes that person a more effective leader, which is why I have volunteering as a requirement for ELASP students.
TDC: What are the benefits of having mentors?
WT: Peer mentors have turned out to be such a great part of ELASP. When new students arrive on campus, the biggest shock … has been how big UH really is. Having that peer mentor has made it seem a bit smaller, because they now know at least one person and that peer mentor has taken a vested interest in knowing them. There are lots of questions new students have that sometimes they feel uncomfortable asking a faculty or staff member, and so a peer mentor is there for those questions.
TDC: What can students expect by becoming involved in this program?
WT: By joining ELASP, a new student can expect several things: to have a peer mentor assigned to them; they can expect that they will start building their community and make lasting friendships, they can expect to start developing important leadership skills, they expect to have an easier transition, they can expect to have fun and lastly, they can expect that if they complete the requirements of ELASP, they will receive an incentive. This year, we are able to offer students a scholarship.
Although the 2013-2014 application period for ELASP has closed, the program’s next workshop, “Research and Writing,” will take place from 4 to 5 p.m. Wednesday in the M.D. Anderson Memorial Library Training Room 10-F.
