The University News

Issue date: 2/9/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Courtesy Steve Terry ILS students partnered with UMKC Athletes to clean up Satchel Paige Stadium.

Media Credit: Courtesy Steve Terry More than 600 volunteers participated in Tulips on Troost.

For one group of students, a call to leadership has transformed into a life-changing experience.

Last August, the Institute for Leadership and Service (ILS) Program launched at UMKC with more than 200 students getting involved. Through community service and leadership classes, participants are taught what it means to be an ethical and caring leader.

"We ask our students to not only strive to better themselves, but also others around them," said Steve Terry, program coordinator. "We help to teach our students to look for the best in others and to take advantage of every opportunity that can affect their own and others' lives in a positive way."

Last semester, the ILS offered students 15 programs to attend as well as numerous community service projects in which to engage ,including Tulips on Troost, which drew a crowd of 500 students, staff, faculty and community members to plant 75,000 tulips. Additionally, more than 150 hours of youth mentoring were volunteered at local elementary schools.

The total number of community service hours for last semester alone was more than 5,000.

Freshman Levi Rash said he has found his niche in the program. He said being able to mentor elementary-age children has been an unforgettable experience.

"To see how other people live and are educated opened my eyes to the differences that students have growing up all over the world," said Rash. "Each young person is surrounded by many different aspects that shape and mold the person they grow up to be. For me to have at least a small influence on who they become means a great deal."

This semester, ILS students will have no problem staying busy with all of the projects and programs offered.

So far, five programs are planned for this semester.

Community service projects on the docket include partnering with Community Linc on April 18 to provide transitional housing to local families, helping Powell Gardens with planning and building an extension, picking up trash and debris at 51st Street and Indiana Road, holding a fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and collecting food for Harvesters.

The group is also organizing an "Alternative Spring Break Trip" when 20 students will head to Laredo, Texas to work with Habitat for Humanity to repair homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

"The great thing about this program is that students pick the projects," Terry said. "A student was responsible for coming up with the idea to go on the alternative spring break."

Jessie Larkin, nursing, was one of the five members who planned the trip to Texas.

"We have sought out a group in desperate need of volunteers, and have decided helping them would be better than wasting away a whole week," Larkin said. "I am proud to say that I am more than excited to be going on this trip, and no matter what happens, it will be an experience of a lifetime."

Terry pointed out that although the group is grounded in service, they have a lot of fun too.

They attend High Ropes team building courses, go on camping trips, have pizza parties and more.

"In the last year, we have planned laser tag, went bowling and even took a group of non-traditional students and their families to a Royals game for Family Day at the K," he said. "In the future, our students would like to work toward broader campus initiatives including a nationally recognized recycling program, free self-defense training for UMKC students, a UMKC hosted marathon or 5k to benefit a local philanthropic organization and a campus-wide energy conservation program."

Rash said ILS has opened his eyes to many diverse topics.

"My favorite aspect is constantly having new events to be part of that shape me as a person, student and leader," said Rash.

Larkin said she enjoys being able to see the difference she can make.

"We walk through this world day-after-day, not realizing what we do has an effect on those around us," she said. "This program has given me the opportunity to make the effects of my actions positive rather than negative."

She said she would encourage others to get involved in any way possible.

"We may be at UMKC for four to six years, but the things we learn here go with us forever," she said. "We make the difference."

alang@unews.com

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