On campus living and leadership development

One of the more common questions I hear from parents, and on occasion from students, is why should someone live on campus? Many people point out the convenience of living on campus, which is true, however, I think the real benefit that it helps develop students into future leaders in a way that few other experiences can. I know many students come to college after serving in a laundry list of leadership positions. In many cases, these positions were more about being responsible for completing a set number of things with close supervision by a teacher/adviser. This is in many cases not leadership, but managing.

Countless books have been written on the difference between leaders and managers. It is in this area where I think on campus living provides a new experience for many students. In the book Start Something That Matters, TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie points out that, “a leader can create a company, but a community creates a movement.” It is in this difference where I feel the real advantage to residence halls can be overlooked. Living on campus is for many students one of their first opportunities of interacting with people who are similar to them in both terms of educational pursuits and stepping out on their own for the first time. This stepping out means the students have to be self-motivated, something that is much easier to avoid when you are in high school and have a teacher or adviser to make sure you are doing what you should.

We have many programs, including several at Southeast that focus on leadership; however, in many cases this focus is more self-focused. While I do not object to this focus on one’s self, my own experience as the leader of my department and other leaders I admire demonstrates to me that successful leaders are not as focused on self-improvement. Successful leaders who want to have a lasting impact work with those around them to build a community to pursue an idea or process.

It this ability to work within a community, to build relationships with people that are deeper than just a class project or being part of some organization you can choose to drop out of when you get bored, that separates the on campus experience from others. Living in a residence hall forces you to become part of a community. It is through this community experience that I think students can really establish the necessary elements of leadership. Leaders have to build with the people and resources they have, not the ones they want. Living on campus is about this same ability to build relationships with the people around you, not just the people you choose. This is why I wish more students opted for a roommate they don’t know. Choosing someone you have known all your life is the safe choice, but with little risk, comes little opportunity for growth.

For me, leadership and building communities are closely connected, but separate experiences. Leadership is critical to one’s success, however, the successful leader is the one who harnesses the value of the community, both in terms of people and resources to accomplish a goal or complete a task. The  leadership then is not a theory, but instead the effort of building a community around a concept or idea. This is the experience on campus living provides. Living in the residence halls (dare I sin and say dorm) is about students’ leading their college experience through, at least in part, the community they help build on their floor and in their residence hall. This community building exercise is the real evidence of leadership, not the certificate that you hang on the wall. 

Thanks to "Leadership is not for you" by Josh Allan Dykstra for the inspiration for this idea.
  

Time to move out from your parent’s house, sort of…

The housing assignments are mostly made and some of you have already started packing things for move in day, which is still a month and a half away. The biggest challenge that many of you will have, is not moving to a new place, but the challenge of making responsible choices. One of the first things you can do is to learn how to transition from living at home to living on campus.

The importance of this transition is why many universities, like Southeast, require living on campus for the first two years. It is a way to help you move from living under your parent’s roof. This on campus living experience is slowly edging you into the adult world and the reality of taking on more responsibilities. This will become very clear when you go back home over winter break or summer break and see the difference in terms of living on campus and then moving back in with your parent/guardian. Living on campus is the best way to cross from your parent’s house to living on your own.

The best way to transition from home life to college is by living right on campus in the residence halls at Southeast. Each residence hall has people that live there who can help called “RAs (Resident Assistants)” and “Hall Director.”  They are there to help keep order and to help you, they are not there to make sure you go to class, to tell your roommate to help clean the room, or to deliver messages because you won’t call/text/email back your parent/guardian. This is where responsible choices come into play.

In the residence halls, you have freedom, you are your own person, yet you have to abide by the University’s and residence hall rules. You have a variety of dining areas to choose from, you have to do your own laundry, and you are responsible for keeping your room clean. All of these provide opportunities to demonstrate responsible choices and demonstrate you are taking that next step from living under your parent/guardian’s roof to being fully responsible for yourself. 

Adapted from "Transition from your parents house to living on your own" by Herb Ammons