By Taylor Ware

On May 7, the Citizenship and Service-Learning team gathered at Plaster Student Union for a morning of professional development, team bonding and delicious brunch foods. Service-Learning director, Dr. Kathy Nordyke, organized the workshop to educate the staff on a variety of vital tasks to the office’s operation and purpose.

The brunch began with coffee, French toast and fun facts shared among tables. Team members, old and new, shared their educational backgrounds and personal interests as a means of cementing a spirit of unity among the office.

Soon, the workshop transitioned to the informational component of the brunch. A massive role the CASL staff play is advising service-learning students. Advising tips made up the next portion of the morning, the importance of being accessible to students and making a meaningful connection with them are at the heart of Dr. Nordyke’s message.

Our team values experiences of the student participants above all else. The advisor-advisee relationship is a pivotal factor in achieving student satisfaction. Success in this area is often referred to as transformational service-learning. This means students should emerge from the program having been enriched intellectually and emotionally.

First-year graduate assistant, Devon Paden, said, “I loved getting to be with the rest of our team and learn more about different areas of our office outside of the areas I am involved in. I think things like this are important to grow together as an office and build off one-another’s strengths.” Devon is working on her Master’s of Social Work and serves as a program coordinator for Springfield Community Gardens.

The professional development brunch served as a fantastic educational and team building opportunity. However, it was also an important milestone for the team. For incoming staff, this was their first team event and helped to set expectations for the experiences to come. For outgoing individuals, this was their final team gathering. According to Tristan Carroll, an MSU Vision Screening Program Coordinator who is working on a Public Health Core Graduate Certificate, “It was great getting to meet all the new faces as well as say goodbye to some familiar ones.”

To conclude the workshop Dr. Nordyke discussed leadership. A stand-out lesson was that of the first follower which was taught by a video. The video featured a lone dancing man for the first few minutes, and it seemed he’d forever dance by himself. At last, another dancer wanders into the frame. Before long, a large crowd forms, and the lone dancing man is lost in a sea of joyous, flailing limbs.

The lesson is that true leadership lies in a combination of risk taking and followership. For the CASL office to succeed, they must prioritize servant leadership and be willing to stand apart to create something incredible in the end.