By Shannon O’Mara
STRIVE – A CSU Student Leadership Program is a newly developed student leadership program in which students undertake 10 modules of varying self-improvement and leadership techniques at a self-guided pace. It aims to give people who already find themselves in student leadership positions such as SRC, Residential Advisory positions and Student Senate tools they can utilise within their position to better the lives of not only themselves but the people their position touches.
I was offered the opportunity to undertake the STRIVE leadership course at the start of last year after undertaking the position of Head Resident on the Bathurst Campus. It was during my training in this position that a Canadian lady by the name of Kerry, who it turns out developed the program, came into a session and started talking about this great new opportunity to participate in a never-before-run program and all the perks that go along with it.
At first, I signed up because the program is recognised on the participants’ graduation transcript, which I thought would look great as I applied for jobs in my chosen field. As I started completing the modules, I found that not only could I apply the lessons to my job position and the team in which I was working, but also to everyday aspects of my life.
Through the completion of this program I found I learnt a lot more about myself both as a person and as a leader. I found as I moved forward from completing this program I identified the skills my personality type possessed and learnt the best way to utilise these.
I cannot offer enough praise for the program, I know it sounds super cheesy but it helped me learn more about who I am and the things I can achieve just by utilising my strengths and identifying what assets I can apply to a variety of situations. If you are interested in learning not only about leadership, but about yourself you should undertake STRIVE during your time at Charles Sturt University!
STRIVE – A CSU Student Leadership Program was piloted in 2017, and has been reviewed and opened up to all students for 2018. You can attend the program launch in the Engineering Gallery at Bathurst Campus from 5.45pm on Tuesday 13 March, or find out more about the program (and register!) through the Student Portal.
