The Bellevue College Student Programs Mid-Year Leadership Seminar will take place on Dec. 4, 2012 in the cafeteria from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Leadership Seminar aims to accomplish three goals: personal growth, strategic planning and teamwork.
The Leadership Seminar is put on primarily for the benefit of the students. “You are our future,” said Assistant Dean of Student Programs Faisal Jaswal, who helped plan the Seminar. “I don’t want to sound corny, but it’s true. You are student leaders on this campus.” He went on to say, “I know that you are going to accomplish your goals with or without my help, but I would like to help.”
“As a faculty advisor [of “The Watchdog”], I place a tremendous value on bringing students together in a situation where they can learn, not only from the staff of Student Programs, but also from each other,” said Amy Miller.
The Leadership Seminar is unique because it is accessible to all students; attendance is free, eliminating any excluding economic factors, and students in attendance will be served both breakfast and lunch. The retreat will feature a keynote from BC’s own Vice President of Diversity Yoshiko Harden. At the Seminar, student leaders from all Student Programs departments will be able to work closely with faculty members to improve the entire Student Programs department. Approximately 100 students are expected to attend the retreat, and the student-to-faculty ratio will be ten-to-one. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to network with their peers and to form invaluable connections within the Student Programs department. After the renovations that finished earlier in the quarter, the Student Programs department is more accessible than ever. The new open design is more inviting for students and is already facilitating more open communications between the Student Programs department. Jaswal hopes that the casual environment of the Leadership Seminar will help make this possible.Past reactions to previous retreats have been extremely positive. The events are so popular that, according to Jaswal, “We’ve had to turn people away.” The event, though educational, is also meant to be fun.
Jaswal says that after the retreat is over, students are invited for an evening with their peers in downtown Bellevue to visit Snowflake Lane and watch movies.
Extensive planning goes into the retreat. Jaswal could not give an exact number of hours, but calls it an “ongoing process.” The retreat is part of a series of events sponsored by the Bellevue College Leadership Institute which occur approximately every six months. Over the summer, student leaders had the chance to attend a weeklong leadership retreat at Camp Casey in June, and a Leadership Training Day in August.
The mission of the BC Student Leadership Institute, according to the Student Programs website, is “to engage students in development for the advancement of leadership excellence based on the core values of skill development, character development, public service, civic responsibility, ethical conduct, empowerment of others and diversity and pluralism.”
Anyone interested in getting more information about the Student Programs. Leadership Seminar can email faisal.jaswal@bellevuecollege.edu or visit the new Student Programs office in C-205.