The award will fund a workshop titled “Professional Development Workshop on Leadership Through Effective Communication” to foster improved student leadership through a consideration of productive discourse.
“The purpose of ODK’s Clay Grants is to seed initiatives that can be sustained over time,” explains Director of Undergraduate Research and ODK Advisor Michael Wolyniak. “I am hopeful that this will be the first of many leadership workshops that we can put on for our students.”
According to the Circle’s proposal, the program is designed to foster improved student leadership through a consideration of productive discourse. Engaging with faculty representing the entirety of departments and programs across campus, including the College’s Wilson Center for Leadership in the Public Interest, students will build skills in leading and promoting effective communication and civil discourse, thus producing student community leaders who will be able to moderate civil conversation to accomplish positive change and encourage understanding among individuals across all backgrounds on campus.
“This is an exciting addition to the activities that the ODK Lambda Circle does at Hampden-Sydney to promote student leadership,” Wolyniak says. “This project is a result of the hard work of Circle President Gray Breeden ’21 and Vice President Tyler Howerton ’21 as well as Director of the Wilson Center Ryan Pemberton ’00 and ROTC Advisor Rucker Snead ’81. We look forward to working both in the Circle and with the H-SC community to plan and implement this workshop in the late spring or early fall.”