TRIO Advisor, Norri Hayes, gave a presentation about the importance of leadership to students. Hayes specified about how important the topic is based on how where students live at.

Hayes explained the several types of leaders including directive, supportive and participative styles of leadership.

Hayes also explained ways to develop leadership skills including offering to be a team leader for a group assignment or organization, take on leadership responsibilities in a club, work, internship or student group, seek a leadership role in a student organization, take a leadership class and more.

At the end of the presentation Hayes asked students “How would you want to be remembered as a leader?,” most students agreed that leadership is important and on the minds of more than those who lead, but also on the minds of the ones who follow.

“I’m very glad I came here to hear people’s thoughts about what it truly means to like be a leader or what they mean, being a leader is in their hearts,” studio art major student Katie Cobb said.

While many students are leaders in several ways at Easterns campus, a neuroscience major student, Abigail Duzan, told everyone in the workshop about her experience in the army and her leadership role.

“With my experience in the army, the main thing that I focused on that I found to be most productive and goal oriented was to be an inclusive leader, and participative where I made sure everyone felt as though they were cared for and it wasn’t like where we mentioned earlier a dictatorship, and it was rather everyone had representation within the group and made sure that they had autonomy and felt comfortable talking with me to discuss whether I was doing something well or needed to improve on something,” Duzan said.

“Realization that there are other people out there that like had the same goals as you and just being able to hear their responses what they do well and like kind of picking and choosing like what to fit into your own leadership style,” Duzan said. “It kind of helps the continuity of leadership and always growing and trying too always better yourself.”

The student support center workshops will continue throughout the spring semester and the next student support center workshop involving the importance of leadership is March 10 from 2 p.m. to 2:30 PM in McAfee 2611.

Chandler Smith can be reached at 581-2812 or at cbsmith5@eiu.edu.