College students as catalysts for social change: a case study

Summary

First, the founders were shaped by individual experiences including strong familial influences. The area of experiences and influences was then explored. This included group characteristics and experiences of the founders. Some of their commonalities were around extracurricular activities in high school, their educational experiences of being in the same academic program and family support. Parental involvement as a finding and its impact and influence within SLP was then explored.

Next, the findings related to the research question asking the founders what barriers they encountered in starting the group were presented. The identified barriers centered on a lack of belief in the founders’ abilities and issues of bureaucracy within the institution. The impact that their higher education experience had on the creation of the organization was considered next.

The SLP founders exhibited individual traits and values that included a high degree of selflessness. These traits and values included the distributed style of leadership that the founders practice and traits such as naïveté and idealism. Other values discussed include a commitment to principles, optimism and altruism. The findings under altruism also included sacrifice and philanthropy.

The founders are committed to a common vision, clear purpose and goals. These structural issues included the collaborative development and design of the MAD tours. This directly answered the research question: How did they specifically develop the program model known as the Make a Difference Tour? A review of the purpose and goals of SLP including their goals to change stereotypes, lives and the world was presented. Finally their use of networking to further the organization was explored.

The second section of the chapter looked at the domain of organizational components. Programmatic elements are those created by and unique to SLP. These programmatic elements of SLP included an explanation of the Core Model and the non-hierarchical components and how it permeates the entire organization. Next the various leadership models were discussed including Revealed, Mad Lib and Reentry leadership. The concept of customizable mass production and how it appeals to this generation was explored and finally the concept of challenging the comfort zone of the participants as a goal was presented.

The foundational elements are the internal and external factors that influence the operation of SLP. Foundational elements included the core values of trust, initiative, passion and support. What experiences and social factors help them to persist? Another one of my research questions was answered in this section with an exploration of the role of social networks and technology. Other foundational elements presented were hierarchy, board dynamics and feedback.

Numerous outcomes demonstrate the complexity of judging the “effectiveness” of SLP. Outcomes include SLP as a catalyst for change within individuals. Involvement in SLP programs (MAD tours and camps) has been identified as an important influence for self-efficacy in leadership among participants. One of the cornerstones of the organization is the relationships; starting with those that the four founders have with each other, to those created through involvement with SLP. Indeed relationships came out as the most cited benefit of involvement. Those that get involved with any of the core groups such as chapter cores, bus cores or the Celebration City cores all have a tremendous sense of ownership. This is achieved through commitment to the organization and the vision, mission and goals that are espoused. SLP empowers those that interface with the organization to achieve their dreams. The organization is intentionally inclusive, although this is a change from the original vision. The inclusivity of SLP has provided new and exciting opportunities such as the work with high school students of color in the Detroit area. The organization uses service as a “hook” to get students involved and to develop civic engagement.

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS

Chapter V will close with my conclusions about SLP. These include a list of SLP principles containing a synopsis of the founders’ habits of life, leadership techniques and organizational functioning. Following that is a summation of SLP and conclusions as they relate to various issues. These issues include technology, the impact of their undergraduate degree in business, the template model, customizable mass production, political involvement, the Core Model, and the issue of feedback. I look at sustainability as it relates to the future of SLP. Finally, I will include my thoughts on the “it” of SLP, the intangibles that make the programs and this organization unique. Future research suggestions and my final reflections about the “birth of a student movement” are also presented.

Summation

The founders achieved an amazing amount in creating SLP against an environment that held a number of barriers and a lack of belief. In Collins' and Porras' (2004) work on building sustainable futures in organizations they talk about the "Big Hairy Audacious Goal" (BHAG). The founders are intentional about preserving their core ideology (core purpose and core values) but then going for the “audacious goal.” One of the most disconcerting comments about the achievement of this goal was made by Mackenzie when she commented four years later if they were to know then what they know now, they would not have started the organization. They had learned along the way the many reasons why SLP would not work-and yet it has.

SLP challenged the rules and regulations of the student affairs office on their campus. Millennial students will continue to challenge policies and procedures that do not seem to work for them on campuses (Osteen, 2003). They will do this with the support and sometimes interference of their parents. How we chose to listen to them and not discount their concerns is a lesson that can be learned from the manner in which SLP was treated. The lack of belief in their dreams was also a painful thing to hear. This has motivated the founders to support the dreams of other young people in college and high school and to provide opportunities whenever it is possible such as the examples provided of the video project, the auction and having students direct their leadership camps.

The founders’ educational program, primarily through their own initiative, gave them additional tools to learn about non-profits, accounting systems, entrepreneurship, strategy and organizational development. It also allowed them the opportunity to use aspects of SLP and the MAD tours as “projects.”

SLP practices an informal style of leadership that they reference as “winging it” or “fake it until you make it.” This loose, unstructured style seems to work with this generation. However, this style is very different from that practiced by older generations and may explain some tensions with the board and other groups that SLP interfaces with. I believe this also is more generational in nature. The founders practice transformational leadership. Kouzes and Posner’s (2002) five fundamental ideas of: model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act and encourage the heart are embodied by the founders and the organization. The founders also practice servant leadership evidenced by the roles they had at the winter retreat. Pete and Roy in the kitchen, Nick doing clean up and Mackenzie behind the scenes. They put into practice the reentry model with themselves as the ultimate models for this.

The elements that have impacted SLP that are transferable to other organizations include the following. A shared vision and clear goals leads to ownership from the participants. Empowerment of the individuals involved with SLP has been significant for personal growth of participants and the organization. Students are supported and achieve far more than they originally believe they can. Customization is another key concept. SLP allows students to customize certain aspects of their program whether it be selecting the theme for their bus or designing the t-shirts they will wear. The “template” model that allows students to pick and chose exercises within a framework seems to resonate with this group. Relationships are mentioned as one of the biggest elements of SLP. Developing these relationships and offering support for others is a key factor in the success of the program. Challenging students moves them out of their comfort zone, where real growth occurs. The service element of SLP supports the action-oriented nature of these students. It also sustains their belief system in being able to “make a difference.” In addition it also supports the “instant gratification” aspect of this generation. When the students are participating on a MAD tour they receive a lot of gratification from the various service projects each day. On several tours the buses have actually received police escorts into the communities they have served. These escorts occur as a sign of appreciation from the towns. This has made some of the student participants uncomfortable, knowing that what they are doing is not about making a difference for them, but them making a difference in the communities they serve.

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  Altruistic
  
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  Vision and value led
  
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  Commitment to each other and the group
  
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  Positive Mental Attitude
  
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  Passion
  
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  Excellent networking skills
  

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  Developing relationships is a critical element of SLP and the resultant peer support that results from these friendships
  
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  Exposing students to a smorgasbord of service opportunities assists them in identifying their passions
  
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  Affirming people is an important element of students feeling positive about their involvement
  
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  Providing leadership opportunities and engaging students creates ownership
  
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  Sharing the vision and goals increases buy-in
  
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  The SLP model of consensus making is time consuming
  
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  The MAD tour acts as a significant, and for some students, life changing experience
  
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  Chapters are able to “customize” the tour experience
  
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  Participants have a sense of being part of something bigger than themselves
  

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  The concept of revealing leadership is a cornerstone of the group
  
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  The Core Model provides the support of others in a team, it is non-hierarchical and you cannot rise to the “top”
  
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  “Winging it” or “Fake it until you make it” are customary methods used by the SLP core
  
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  The reentry model takes the most experienced leaders and challenges them to reenter the organization as a member