HOUSTON (April 23, 2012) – Leadership Lone Star College (LLSC) celebrated its graduates who completed the 2011-2012 class on April 20 in the board room of the Lone Star College Training and Development Center in The Woodlands.
Leadership Lone Star College provides an opportunity to educate and mentor emerging student leaders for diverse roles of leadership, linking Lone Star College System and the community. The goal of the program is to develop and enhance the leadership skills of its students, while encouraging an appreciation by the students for giving back to the community where they live.
Intensive monthly sessions for the students in the six-month program allow them to explore and examine the local economy, government, arts and culture, and more. The students also receive applicable skills training based on the StrengthsQuest program, a national leadership training course.
Leadership Lone Star College provides students the opportunity to work in a team environment during a community service project. The 2011-2012 community service project benefited New Caney New Horizons Inc., an organization in New Caney dedicated to providing vocational training and life skills to individuals with developmental disabilities. The Leadership Lone Star College class members built and planted a wheelchair-accessible garden for the clients. They also participated in general maintenance of the grounds at the family-owned center.
“Over the years that I’ve been involved with the Leadership College program, I have seen it develop into one of the most unique leadership opportunities available to our students,” said John Turner, LLSC program coordinator and associate dean of student development at Lone Star College-Kingwood.
“The experiential nature of the program, along with the hands-on opportunity to engage civically in a real-world setting, helps to instill in our young leaders the need and desire to become public servants. Regardless of where their lives lead them, the LLSC class members will always remember the value of “giving back” and the social significance of helping others who are less fortunate than they are,” Turner said.
“Volunteerism is just one way we teach students the value of servant leadership,” said Kay Fitzsimons, director of Community Leadership Institute for LSCS. “Our goal is to connect students with experiences that can help them become strong leaders.”
Graduates of the program are: from LSC- Cy-Fair: Thanhphuong Le, Marc Mann, Damaris Rodriguez; from LSC-Kingwood: Alex Craniotis, Kelli Cruz, Daniela Gomez, and Nancy Gutierrez; from LSC-Montgomery: Leya Rinard, and Angela Tallant; from LSC-North Harris: Lorrie Gonzalez, Nguyen Nguyen, and Victor Ramirez; from LSC-Tomball: Rama Hardy, Numaan Ismail, and Margaret Mata; and from LSC-University Park: Jacquelyne Burch, Vandaless Bush, and Harrison Royalty.
Applications for 2012-2013 LLSC will be available online and through the office of student life at each campus later in the summer.
For more information on LLSC or how you can be a sponsor, contact Fitzsimons, director of Community Leadership Institute for LSCS, at 832-813-6623 or kay.l.fitzsimons@lonestar.edu.
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