On Monday, April 30, students participating in the Summit Park Leadership Program will be presenting their final projects to the community. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to attend to support the groups in their presentations. The event will be held in the Hoblit Suite in the Panhellenic Building behind the Findlay Student Center. Presentations will begin at 5 p.m.

According to Drury’s website, the Summit Park Program, “engages Drury University students in a living-learning environment that focuses on the principles of leadership while incorporating the value of community service. Student teams form a year-long partnership with a local community agency and commit to 15 hours of community service a semester.”

The students in the program, “design, organize, and implement a service-learning project based on the idea that leadership is a purposive process that is ultimately concerned with fostering change.” This year there are seven groups that have spent the academic year partnered with organizations from across Springfield, such as Harmony House and Boyd Elementary School.

Sophomore Erin Sublette and her Summit Park group have been working with Champion Athletes of the Ozarks. “[Champion Athletes of the Ozarks] is a local nonprofit that focuses on both children and adults with special needs,” stated Sublette.

Sublette explained, “For our final project we are making a presentation showing our ups and downs of our year at Summit. We are focusing on our main event, the Champion Athlete Dance, which we just hosted a couple weeks ago. It was a lot of work but also totally worth it in the end. They all loved it!”

Another participant, Autumn Green, and her group have spent the year working with The Dream Center, an after-school program. Green explained her group’s project: “We decided to implement leadership talks coordinating with numerous Drury athletic teams on campus. We brought the teams in for the hopes of them developing a mentor relationship with the kids at the Dream Center as well as teach them about leadership qualities, their sports, how to maintain good grades, and what they can do to be a college student and/or student athlete as well.”

But students do not join the program only for the college credit. “Summit is a great opportunity to get away from school and work on a project that you feel strongly about. Whether it is homeless shelters, food banks, or nonprofits, there are so many ways for us to help. These organizations rely on volunteers to make things happen. It is so amazing to be a part of it,” Sublette said. “Working with the athletes has made me realize that there are so many things that are such bigger than just myself. I am so blessed with all that I have, and now I can help others.”

Green also enjoyed spending her free time volunteering in the community. She said, “It has made me more aware of the Springfield community in general and how there is still more that can be done to help others and help the community.”

Green advocates for the wide range of skills that participating students gain by being part of the Summit Park program. “It teaches you teamwork skills, leadership skills, time management, problem solving and decision-making skills, and other necessary skills that can be used in any career path,” she stated.

Interested in joining the Summit Park Leadership Program? Attending this year’s final presentation are a perfect way to learn more about the program.

Applications are closed for the upcoming school year (2018-2019), but it is never too early to start planning for next year; the application involves forming a group of students and collaboratively creating a project proposal, which can take time. Eligible applicants must be full-time day students, have at least one year of college experience, and a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or higher.

For any additional information, visit www.drury.edu/volunteer/summitpark or email leadership@drury.edu.

Article written by Claire Plaster.