Leadership
Program Aims for Deep Self-Understanding
Smith creates leaders, that
much is clear, notes Jessica Bacal, director of the Wurtele
Center for Work and Life. But how does that happen? What
is the personal process students go through while here that
transforms them into people who enter the world equipped
to move and inspire others toward positive change?
 “Many students don’t even recognize that they’re developing important tools and
habits-of-mind here,” says Bacal, “the kind that prepare them for leadership
roles.”
To help bring insight to the
Smith learning and leadership experience, the Wurtele Center
for Work and Life and the Women’s Narratives Project are offering the
Global Engagement and Leadership ePortfolio program, beginning later this month,
in which participants will reflect on their own leadership development in guided
workshops and retreats. The ePortfolio series is a pilot program; sessions will
take place between this October and April 2013.
The deadline to apply in the
Global Engagement and Leadership ePortfolio Pilot program
is Friday, Oct. 12. . No experience
with ePortfolio is necessary to participate.
An ePortfolio
is an online, multimedia representation of learning experience
in and outside the classroom. The CWL ePortfolio project
aims to uncover students’ potential
as globally engaged people and leaders of change.
“During this project, students will think deeply about their most important learning
experiences, and will be guided in uncovering what has been called ‘tacit knowledge,’” explains
Bacal. “We hope each student will come away with an increased sense of purposefulness
and confidence. We also hope that each student will have a high-quality, online
documentation of her unique path at Smith and her goals for the future.”
The ePortfolio pilot program
will require participation in two Friday-Saturday overnight
retreats in the fall, and one in the winter, as well as 15
additional hours throughout the program. The retreats will
take place at the beautiful Chesterfield Inn in West Chesterfield,
New Hampshire (with gourmet meals included).
“This program is for any student who is ready to commit time and deep thought,” says
Bacal, “and who is interested in coming to better understand her own strengths,
all while having a lot of fun!”
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