At UMF, leadership is cultivated through a wide array of curricular and co-curricular opportunities to strengthen communication, teamwork, and interpersonal skills that are essential in the various professional fields UMF students are pursuing. Leadership opportunities, ranging from serving as an officer in Student Government to participating in the Collegiate Leadership Competition, are designed to enhance these highly transferable life skills with clear connections to their academic programs and their career paths.
In 2019, UMF sent its first team of six students to the Northeastern Regional Collegiate Leadership Competition (CLC) where student leaders apply their knowledge and leadership skills to challenges based on real-life experiences. As a member of the UMF team, McKayla Marois (‘20) was able to strengthen her skills and confidence: “I learned how to work with a group of people who are not only strong leaders themselves, but also vastly different from myself and one another.” The CLC program permitted McKayla to develop her skills at extemporaneous speaking and problem-solving on the fly. “I feel like I have learned more through these real-world experiences working with people than anything I learned through textbooks.”
Back in 2008, the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center developed the Maine National Education for Women (NEW) Leadership program to address the lack of women in politics and other leadership roles. This annual undergraduate leadership training program gives young women the opportunity to meet with various female political leaders, something that Sydney Brown (‘19) believes greatly improved her leadership and professional skills. “The New program taught me how to be a more effective networker and advocate, as well as how to use my voice and not second guess my ability to promote positive change. Through the NEW program and her practicum at the Maine State House, I gained a better understanding of my place in the Maine political system and that the State House is just as much a place for me as a woman as it is for every other Maine citizen.”
Each year, the Camden Conference on World Affairs brings together renowned policymakers, journalists, activists, and scholars from around the world to lead in-depth, non-partisan discussions on a critical global issue or world region. A highly interactive conference with hundreds in attendance and thousands via live-feed, a select few audience members are invited to pose questions to the panelists. Drawing on her extensive preparation for the conference in an Honors seminar and the confidence it gave her, Koley True (’22) was among the lucky and the courageous at the 2020 conference on the Media Revolution: “I was very nervous to stand up and ask my question. But the positive responses I received [from the panelists] were very rewarding. It was an opportunity to break out of my comfort zone and take a risk that will help me have the confidence to do so in my future career.”
Emily Kelley is a member of The Wildlife Society, a small club at UMF focusing on natural science and connecting to national organizations and natural science professionals. Students who participate in the club are informed of natural science majors, job prospects, graduate school, and other opportunities to gain skills and build resumes. The Wildlife Society, according to Emily, has helped her to “become better at networking as well as give me opportunities to really step into a leadership role and pass my knowledge onto younger students.” From this experience, Emily has improved her public speaking and leadership skills, including planning and organization. Her academic background at UMF has allowed her to see the importance of and implement public speaking and proper networking skills. With her leadership role in the club, she feels more confident in her contributions to discussions and leading presentations and her position within the club has created a desire to pursue more leadership positions in future research.
