Student view: Dena

(above: Dena ((far right)) with three of her PRL colleagues at last spring's Graduate Colloquium. These four students served on a a PRL-sponsored panel on which they discussed their ethics-in-the-field papers)


This week's student perspective comes from second-year student Dena C.

From Dena:

I enrolled in the Professional Leadership program at Carlow in the fall of 2007. When I consider it, I can hardly believe that I have already completed a year of my Master's studies. My time in the program has been enormously beneficial to my professional as well as my personal life. I love my class schedule because it allows me to balance a full time job and school. I enjoy the small class sizes that make participation easy. Students are able to discuss the coursework in depth, especially in relation to their own work experiences. There is a genuine appreciation of one's peers in the PRL program, and instructors are encouraging and enthusiastic. PRL has helped me to look at my career with new eyes and from many different angles. It has given me the confidence to explore other options and opportunites for my future, and most of all to be a leader in my own life and in the lives of others. As I get into my concentration of Training and Development, I am excited to incorporate what I learn into the training I do every day as a Human Resources professional and to develop new methods and strategies for future career opportunities.

Student stories: Alexis

Hi All,

This week begins CAP II. At the end of CAP I, I had the pleasure of reading all of the final papers for Leadership and Ethics. In this paper, students synthesize key themes that emerged for them in the first course. They are asked to articulate ways in which their views on leadership have changed since they began the program. The following is the first paragraph of one of the many outstanding papers:

“If we could sell our experiences for what they cost us, we'd all be millionaires.”

Abigail Van Buren

My experience in the Leadership and Ethics class has been costly to say the least. It has cost me my paradigm. My understanding of good leadership has changed over the course of the semester in a way that I never expected. Initially, I thought leadership was all about the leader and the characteristics that best describe that person. Assigned readings, classroom conversations, and presentations from this Leadership and Ethics class have allowed a paradigm shift from within. The best practices of leadership are found in the best practices of followership. -- Alexis

Until next time,

Harriet

New PRL students complete first class!

Time flies in an accelerated program! The fall 08 PRL students have already completed their first course. We met for the final time this week and the students now have about a week and a half off before the second class session begins.

I am busy grading students' final papers which is something I enjoy. This final paper, in Leadership and Ethics, is a reflective paper wherein students focus on key aspects of their learning in this first course. Some students write about a specific theory and talk about how they applied it and how that has impacted their leadership approach. Other students write more about personal transitions, for example, gaining confidence as a master's student and how that has translated to increased confidence on the job. Others talk about the power of studying in a leadership program, surrounded by other students who are emerging and current leaders in their field and the power of this collaboration. This is all very exciting!

Until next time,
Harriet

Pictured above: some members of the PRL Fall 08 class, along with a few other students from other master's programs who took Leadership and Ethics as an elective.