Counseling, Rehabilitation,
                              and Student Development

Learning about Leadership by Connecting with the Community

Frank (L) and Watt collaborate to provide students with practice leadership.

University of Iowa students have a unique opportunity to grow as leaders and serve as mentors through a new course taught by Associate Professor Sherry Watt.

The year-long course, “Leadership and Public Service,” combines hands-on mentoring experiences with classroom discussions.“The objective is to have undergraduate students develop their leadership skills and expand their knowledge of public service by mentoring kids in the Iowa City school district,” Watt said.

Ten students from multiple academic fields participated in the course, which partners directly with the school district’s Academic Mentoring Program and works closely with United Action for Youth and the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. Coreen Frank, director of the Academic Mentoring Program, collaborated with Watt in planning the course. Frank said she is pleased with the way the course partners with the district’s mentoring program. In fact, she decided to continue to collaborate with Watt and is a fixture in class meetings.

“We have a really nice group of UI students who are willing to explore their development and put themselves out there as mentors to young students in the district,” Frank said. Frank said she hopes the UI students’ presence in the district’s program will have a lasting impression on the junior and high school students they mentor.

“One of the biggest impacts this course has had is that it introduced seventh- and eighth-grade students to university students,” Frank said. “It gives them an idea of what it is like to be a university student and that the same option is out there for them in the future.” In addition to time working with their mentees, Watt’s students spend class time exploring the concept of leadership.

“We try to help them think more intentionally about whom they want to be as a leader and how they want to lead in their community,” Watt said. Sam Brottman, a sophomore Elementary Education major, said the course has taught her a great deal. “I have learned how to be a good mentor, about multiculturalism, and a lot about myself through the in-class discussions and journal reflections,” she said.

Kylie Bontrager, a sophomore Elementary Education major, said she’s enjoyed serving as a mentor so much that she plans to continue after the course is finished this spring. “This has been such a positive experience for me and has given me an opportunity to meet a really great kid,” Bontrager said. “Not only am I learning about her, but I am learning more about myself as a student and a leader.”