Following their recent name change from the Center for Student Leadership, Ethics, and Public Service (CSLEPS), Leadership and Civic Engagement has been working to create programming and outreach with the intention of making students more engaged and aware community leaders.
Brian Mathis, associate director of Leadership and Civic Engagement, shared more about the programs and opportunities offered.
“We are an interdisciplinary office located in Talley Student Union,” Mathis said. “We provide programming, leadership development trainings, service and community engagement opportunities to fulfill our vision for campus.”
Mathis said that Leadership and Civic Engagement has been more active in election and voter engagement than ever before, and has also started the Civically Engaged Scholars program, teaching students the skills needed to influence positive community change.
“We are offering some of the same signature programs that people know us by, like the Alternative Service Break, our Leadership Development Program, but we also look at civic engagement as a broader term,” Mathis said. “Whether they are a first-year student, a transfer student, or a junior or senior just looking to get involved, we have long-term and short-term opportunities.”
One such opportunity that Mathis mentioned was the NC State hosted Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Leadership Symposium, occurring February 22-24.
“We are hosting the ACC Leadership Symposium Conference, where 100* delegates from the 15 ACC schools across the country come to an ACC campus,” Mathis said. “Our theme this year is addressing food insecurity.”
Adrian M. Pavone, a third-year studying psychology, said that his involvement with Leadership and Civic Engagement started with the LeaderShape Institute.
“After my freshman year, I attended LeaderShape, which is a week-long leadership intensive training program that Leadership and Civic Engagement puts on,” Pavone said. “Afterwards, I felt really empowered and motivated to continue working towards leadership.”
The LeaderShape Institute is a free, six-day leadership retreat offered to 60 students, Mathis said, the theme being “a healthy disregard for the impossible.” Applications for this program go live on Feb. 27.
Pavone said that he is now a leader in organizing and executing Mystery Service Saturdays. Currently occurring once a month, he said that Leadership and Civic Engagement is planning to do Mystery Service Saturdays more frequently in the near future.
“We created Mystery Service Saturday as a way to combine the rewarding work of service with the excitement of suspense,” Pavone said. “It has allowed people to try doing activities that they wouldn’t have thought to do before.”
Pavone said that a big part of Leadership and Civic Engagement is reflection, which he said has made him a more self-aware person and volunteer.
“I would really urge people to get involved not only because the service is wonderful but because it is incredible to give back to the community. I think the personal value that you can get in it and the clarity that it gives you of yourself is extremely impactful,” Pavone said.
To learn more about Leadership and Civic Engagement, students can visit their office in 4111 Talley Student Union or go to their website. Students can also sign up to receive the Leadership and Civic Engagement newsletter and register on the new Division of Academic and Student Affairs service site.
*Editor’s Note: the number of delegates for the ACC Leadership Symposium Conference has been corrected
