Men’s and Women’s Leadership Series continues to evolve while providing a dedicated leadership development opportunity for students in University Residences and Purdue Dining & Culinary. 

The series provides opportunities for participants to network and connect with professional mentors, including faculty, staff and alumni, and like-minded peers while exploring the topic of leadership. This year’s leadership series participants included 72 students and 38 mentors. The core principles of the series connect with the pillars of Steps to Leaps, a campus-wide initiative focused on promoting and enhancing holistic well-being. 

Participants read the book, “Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements,” by Gallup authors Tom Rath and Jim Harter, which provided the foundation for ensuing sessions. Six independent sessions explored essential elements of well-being highlighted in the text: community, career, financial, physical and social. Four additional sessions included a series kick-off with a book teaser discussion, keynote addresses focused on well-being in leadership for men’s and women’s cohorts, and a concluding awards celebration.

The expanded number of sessions provided more dynamic opportunities for participants to engage with the topics explored in the series. Among the sessions were:

• Financial roundtables led by experts from Purdue’s campus.
• A men’s keynote hosted by Clay Brizendine a marketing and non-profit executive and coach who participated in University Residences’ Executive in Residence. Brizendine is a 2000 graduate of Purdue.
• A women’s keynote led by Candice Nash, diversity and inclusion manager for Toyota North America who also participated in Executive in Residence. Nash is a 1993 alumna of Purdue.
• A game night event to focus on community well-being and meet new people.
• Two sessions in the Purdue Recreation & Wellness Demonstration Kitchen focusing on physical well-being.
• A multi-generational panel featuring successful Purdue alumni.

“The varied and creative formats of our series sessions have allowed our students and mentors to actively network with one another, practice tenants of well-being, develop grit and engage in meaningful dialogue around the impact of leadership,” says Renee Kashawlic, alumni relationships and special events director for University Residences and Dining & Culinary. 

The experiences of participants in the series, such as junior Emily Babilonia, highlight the impact discussions on well-being can have on students.

“Through this program, I have gotten the chance to be vulnerable with others and share common experiences with anxiety and how we choose to overcome it,” Babilonia writes. “I think it is refreshing to have such a safe space where we can share these struggles with others to acknowledge that they are not a sign of weakness as they make us stronger. Being able to do this and learn from each other makes you feel less alone and it shines a light on a topic of wellness that should no longer be kept in the dark.”

To recognize outstanding participants in the series, the leadership series committee bestows the Leadership Series Scholarship Award to two students, one each from the men’s and women’s cohorts. The honorees pursue involvement opportunities and demonstrate leadership contributions to the Purdue community. Each honoree receives a $1,000 scholarship award.

Sydney Terrell is this year’s winner from the women’s cohort. Terrell is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education with a concentration on reading and works in the centralized hiring office for Purdue Dining & Culinary. She serves as the Purdue Student Government senator for the College of Education, chair of the Campus Student Resource Affairs Committee and is the Dining & Culinary representative on the Student Life Advisory Board. Terrell is also a member of the Mental Health Action Week planning committee and sits on the PRIDE and Disability Community Ad-Hoc committees.

After participating in the series, Terrell was inspired to work in collaboration with a professor in the College of Education to create a LinkedIn group for College of Education majors and professors to share and pool resources and lesson plans. She has also downloaded an application recommended in the financial wellness session. In addition to important lessons on networking and financial awareness, Terrell says she found reassurance in messages from guest speakers and mentors about their career journeys.

“The insight that a degree title doesn’t determine a career position is a powerful lesson that I learned from the career session,” Terrell writes. “This is influential because it reminded me to be diverse in the clubs I am involved with because I might end up in a job with an unrelated passion to the one that helped me get my degree.”

Zach Demmary was named the recipient of the men’s scholarship award. Demmary is a senior studying human resource management and will graduate this May. He has served as a resident assistant (RA) for three years, including stints in Shreve and Winifred Parker halls. This year, he serves as the residence education assistant (REA) in Honors College and Residences and is vice president of the Purdue Hurling Club. He has also served as a cook at Pete’s Za and as a student ambassador for Executive in Residence.

Demmary noted that he captured three key thematic takeaways that will influence his leadership at Purdue and beyond – reflection, curiosity and intention. He notes that the keynote address delivered by Brizendine, which asked participants to reflect on leaders who have influenced them, inspired him to focus on wellness through his impact on the Hurling Club, where he is working to create traditions and documentation that build a strong foundation for future club members. Some of his most important takeaways manifest in relationships.

“One way I am honing my curiosity on campus is through deepening my relationships with my RAs in my REA role,” Demmary writes. “I believe that relationship building begins with curiosity. It allows me to understand them fully as human beings and better support them through advice tailored to their struggles, both as a student and an RA.”

Readers can support ongoing efforts to develop the next generation of leaders by earmarking donations to the Men’s and Women’s Leadership Series on Purdue Day of Giving, scheduled for Wednesday, April 26. Your donation helps create meaningful development for students like those highlighted in this article. Set a reminder and visit dayofgiving.purdue.edu to make your donation.