A team of Wartburg College students recently participated in the Washburn University Leadership Challenge Event.

Katelyn Eilders, Soniya Tamang, Ja’Niya LaBeaux, Mehrshad Bashang and Aloaye Abdul Saliu competed against several other college teams under the leadership of Michael Gleason, Wartburg’s Irving R. Burling Distinguished Professor in Leadership. This year’s scenario was set in the aftermath of a fire at the only grocery store in a community whose residents had a lower socioeconomic status. The teams had to devise a plan to bring basic necessities to the community and propose a program addressing the needs that would leverage a $100,000 grant from a fictional foundation.

“Through this experience I learned how to work cohesively as a team, knowing that we all serve different roles in our community but everyone has the same end goal,” LaBeaux said. “I learned that the role of a leader is never-ending and to lead with integrity.”

In addition to completing the simulation, students must attend a leadership orientation that allows them to experience leadership in professional scenarios.

“I enjoyed getting to meet new people who shared my passion for leadership. We often picture ourselves just connecting with the same set of individuals, but the Washburn University experience expanded my eyes by allowing me to engage with and understand people from many walks of life,” Bashang said.

All five students are pursuing leadership minors at Wartburg, where they must demonstrate and reflect critically upon the Wartburg definition of leadership, “taking responsibility for our communities, and making them better through public action” and apply it to their own experiences and situations.