Leaders in Residence is a program made up of 35 to 50 first year students, who have been awarded the Leaders in Residence Scholarship of $1,000.
This is a year-long program that helps students build their leadership skills that will help them make a difference on campus and in the world when they graduate.
According to the LIR manual, eligible participants must have had a high school GPA of no less than a 3.0, must have been a Student Government or Beta Club president and/or must have graduated from their county leadership program.
Former Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Philip Watkins started the LIR program around 1986. Current Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs David Belote, who is now head over the program, came onboard as a facilitator in 1998 and has been working with the program ever since.
There are four facilitators who lead the LIR class: Belote; Director of Campus Recreation Gina McClure; Assistant Director of Campus Recreation Eric Simmons and UTM Staff Assistant Marty Conley.These four energetic people teach and facilitate a highly interactive program consisting of service initiatives, field trips and campus involvement initiatives. The facilitators center the class around the five practices for exemplary leaders, which are Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart.
“By spending a full year with these students, these five practices begin to emerge,” Belote said.
Leaders in Residence has always been for freshmen and has only been a one-semester-long program. However, last year’s class was the pilot class for trying out a year-long program.
“A year is more productive, because you have time to build more relationships with the students,” Conley said.
During the first year, students are learning the ropes in leadership. The facilitators create an event, and the students work on it together, pitching different ideas and perspectives. The class as a whole participates in different service initiatives, such as the Homecoming Can Sculptor competition and Martin Housing.
Last year, the Leaders in Residence went around campus scraping gum off the ground. When fellow students would stop and ask what they were doing, they had the opportunity to share their service and leadership skills.
“It’s good because we are all nervous being new to campus. It really brings us out of our shells,” said freshman Special Education major and current Leaders in Residence student Amanda Waters.
This year, Leaders in Residence is starting for the first time its Second Year Program. The class from last year was the pilot class. According to the L.I.R. Manual, second year students will both engage in more profound service initiatives and participate in a curriculum of practical tools designed to strengthen capacity to serve in leadership roles now and after graduation.
Second year students in Leaders in Residence will receive $500 for participating in the pilot year. The main focus of the second year is for the students to find a community partner, identify the need of that partner, make it better and give it something more.
“Leaders in Residence helped me build relationships between my classmates and other people around campus. I always knew what was going on around campus because the facilitators always kept us informed,” said sophomore Biology major and participant in the Second Year Program Tori Vantrease.
The Leaders in Residence program will continue to lead students for all four years of their college careers. The third and fourth years will be a much deeper focus on service in the community, and will have the students doing everything themselves.
In regards to what Leaders in Residence is, Belote summed it up in one sentence, “The nuts and bolts are one thing, but the people are everything.”
