Sophomore Caleb Watts is looking forward to enhancing his leadership skills April 7-8 in Topeka.
Watts, along with four other Baker University students, will participate in the Leadership Challenge Event hosted by Washburn University, where college and high school students will attend various sessions about leadership and participate in a live, leadership simulation.
“It will be a great opportunity to bring those five students and really show the best of the best as far as Baker student leadership,” Director of Student Life Brett Bruner said.
The team consists of Watts, juniors Tracie Babbitt and Mariah Barnett, senior Tonia Karpowicz and sophomore Chelsea Pennock.
The five students were nominated by the Student Development staff and were contacted by Bruner to see if they were interested.
Each student on the team is involved in different organizations on campus, such as Gay-Straight Alliance, greek life, residence life, Baker University Student Educators Association and the Baker University Student Senate.
“We have a very, very diverse team,” Bruner said.
Bruner first heard about the event after he received an email from a Baker alumna, who works at Washburn University, informing him of the event, which will be hosted for the first time in Topeka.
“The Leadership Challenge Event, from my understanding … is a two-day leadership event for high school and college students,” Bruner said.
On the first day, students will learn about different types of leadership. On the second day, students will experience a live, leadership simulation, where they will be faced with a problem and will use their leadership skills to solve it.
“We’re placed into a certain situation and we all have to handle it in a certain way,” Watts said. “It’s a competition. I don’t know how they are going to judge it. I really have no idea what to expect.”
Sophomore Lauren Breithaupt participated in a leadership simulation at the National Orientation Directors Association Conference, where she was on a team with four other college students from around the country. The simulation was similar to the one the five BU students will face.
At the conference, Breithaupt’s team won best overall in the undergraduate case study.
“I would tell them to go in it with an open mind, and make sure you think of all possible scenarios that could happen within the problem,” she said.
While Baker University students have never participated in the Leadership Challenge Event, Bruner is confident the student leaders will do well.
“I’m very excited for our students to have the opportunity,” Bruner said. “I’m excited to see what the leadership challenge entails.”
