A Day in the Life of a College Student Leader

Book excerpt: “Sarah Marshall and Anne Hornak have done a magnificent job exploring diverse contexts in which college students expand their individual leadership capacity and learn and practice engaging in relational leadership with others. These cases are realistic because they were gathered from their interviews with real students engaging in leadership. From whatever perspective, students can learn that they are doing leadership when they work with others to address shared issues, solve shared problems, and work toward positive change.” - from the Foreword by Susan R. Komives This book presents over 230 case studies that reflect typical issues faced by undergraduate student leaders. The scenarios cover the range of functional areas of student life.These cases are intended for use by faculty and student affairs professionals as training tools for new student leaders who generally receive little preparation before assuming their positions. Cases provide an opportunity for students to roleplay and discuss scenarios before they encounter potentially similar events in their daily lives as leaders; engage students intensely in their learning, as they work through the issues and problems; and promote meaningful dialogue and discussion of relevant theory.The cases are based on real life dilemmas, and reflect both contemporary and historical campus issues. They are derived from interviews with 110 undergraduates and 11 student affairs administrators from large public research institutions, small privates, community colleges, and mid-sized comprehensive schools.The book begins with guidance on how to use case studies effectively, and on how to incorporate theory in analyzing them. The cases are then grouped into chapters, each of which focuses on a particular type of student organization. The cases vary in length to allow for multiple uses. Shorter cases can be role played and discussed in leadership training workshops, while longer cases can be used as take home assignments or debated during longer training sessions. The book concludes with general advice for student leaders. To assist with the facilitation process, the authors provide discussion questions to begin the analysis of each case. The cases are written broadly enough to allow for a variety of possible solutions.