Honors Leadership Retreat
Abigail Palotas
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On February 7th and 8th, Honors leaders participated in a retreat with the goal of growing as leaders and strengthening the Honors community. Unfortunately, the retreat, which was originally planned to be held at Gannon’s Altstadt property, had to be held on campus due to poor weather conditions. But this change of plans didn’t stop our leaders! Through an evening and morning spent playing games and discussing leadership qualities under the guidance of Honors Chair Taylor Bennett, and also enjoying some delicious food prepared by Dr. B, Honors leaders improved upon their skill sets and built connections that will allow them to continue bettering the Honors Program here at Gannon.
The retreat kicked off with a spaghetti dinner and casual conversation. The group then solved a bank robbery. With a lot of hints from Taylor and maybe even a little cheating. Students collaborated as members of their team, putting together clues to solve the robbery before their opposing team. The whole group then gathered together to discuss important characteristics of leadership and the role they played in the exercise. Following this discussion, Taylor shared about the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart.
On Saturday, student leaders met again. They began the day with a breakfast of pancakes, scrambled eggs, orange juice, and coffee topped off with milk frothed by Taylor. Following breakfast, the group completed an icebreaker. Taylor read three facts about each of the leaders and everyone had to guess who they thought she was describing. This was a fun way to get to know one another. Next, the leaders broke into two teams: Team Donut and Team 2, and played competitive games. First was Pictionary, and then came Heads Up, the charades-like game featured on
Ellen. Although Team Donut wiped the floor with Team 2 during Pictionary, Team 2 provided some worthy competition during Heads Up. Honors leaders finished up the retreat with a discussion of what the Honors Program and their leadership role within it means to them.
Thanks to the hard work of Taylor Bennett and Dr. B, and the willing participation of Honors leaders, this retreat was a success. Honors leaders who serve on the Student Advisory Board and as Committee Chairs are now reinvigorated and better equipped to fulfill the duties of their leadership positions in Honors and continue improving this program, ensuring that it gives students a sense of community and belonging, while encouraging discussion of meaningful, global topics.