Wing in LRH promotes leadership and service

Even before school started, students in the Leadership for Life Service Wing in Lincoln Residence Hall were lending a hand, volunteering for the local Special Olympics.

“Everyone is just genuinely interested in doing volunteer work,” said Charles Olivier, a sophomore who is the resident assistant for the wing.

Leadership for Life Service Wing is one of several living-learning communities in LRH and provides residence to 27 students. The wing has a new focus this year for both leadership and service, said Kelly Thompson, director of the Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center at UIS.

“They really go hand in hand,” she said. “We’re really trying to work with first-year students to help build their service and their leadership. We’re trying to help them identify connections with the university so they feel better connected with UIS and also with the local community.”

Students living in the Leadership for Life Wing have service requirements that they need to complete, as well as several service programs to attend each semester, Thompson said. One of their first activities will be a leadership retreat at Camp CILCA.

“We’re going to be doing team-building activities so they can really bond after just getting here to the university,” Thompson said.

Besides volunteering at the Special Olympics, the residents of the wing were already able to work together when Sen. Barack Obama was in town to introduce his running mate.

“It really tested our bonds with each other; we were out there for seven hours in the heat, but it was a good experience,” Olivier said. “We also all came together in the first weeks and had a party for some of the residents who had a birthday after they moved in.”

To join the Leadership for Life wing in LRH, students fill out application, explaining why they have an interest in service and what volunteer opportunities they have been involved in.

“We have really strong volunteers on this wing who have done great service - mission trips to other countries, things in their communities, awards they've been given,” Thompson said. “So there are a lot of really great leadership skills already on this floor, and I'm hoping this floor will just continue to enhance that.”

Olivier lived in the service leadership wing last year and said he feels it is a very positive environment and brings students together with a common interest.

“You know that other people are involved in something you like doing,” he said. “We promote development of leadership through building connections with community organizations or having volunteer services on campus.”

Olivier has high hopes for his first year as a resident assistant and believes his residents will have a big impact on the campus.

“It's exciting; we have fun,” he said. “I believe volunteering is not one-way street. Everyone who volunteers gets something back, even if not money. You get sense of self-righteousness. I think it's important and an important part of leadership.”

Research has shown a relationship between civic engagement and how well students do in school, and Thompson hopes to foster a sense of the importance of service and leadership in the residents of the Leadership for Life wing and all students at UIS.

“We want them to be better informed about their own leadership skills and better informed about service opportunities, and what it means to them to be involved in service and how that might affect their major and even their course for what they do in their life after they leave UIS,” she said.