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lsbe newsletter

energy

ENERGY IS EVERYTHING
STUDENTS LEARN TO LEAD FROM THE HEART

"BE PASSIONATE IN EVERYTHING YOU DO." That's what Laina Phetteplace, a junior studying marketing, learned through Leadership from the Heart, a two-day leadership immersion workshop that was sponsored by and held at LSBE in March.

Dave Anderson, founder of "Famous Dave's"

Fifteen students from LSBE were able to participate in the program provided by LifeSkills Center for Leadership, founded by Dave Anderson, who is best known for his successful franchise, "Famous Dave's." It was the first time the program has been offered at UMD, and the response was overwhelmingly positive.

Ryan Penneau, LifeSkills' associate director, trainer, and keynote speaker, says the program is all about going for it. They created a formula: energy x execution = results. He feels that a lot of effort in education is focused on execution, and
character and attitude development are often bypassed.

For millennials, Penneau says these skills are especially important. "These students will be taking jobs where they will need to lead. We help them develop communication skills, which are widely missing from a generation that has been raised with the idea that 'community' is a group of characters within an online network."

Phetteplace described the experience as out of the ordinary. "I had no idea what I was getting into. It
definitely pushes your comfort zone and I grew because of it."

Nick Gorman, a senior studying organizational management, agreed. He said they were asked to give a couple of speeches. At first, the students were writing down what they wanted to say, but it felt inauthentic. Through the program, they learned to speak from their hearts.

Gorman already was able to try out his new skill in the classroom. "I gave a speech a week later and went up there energized and people were clapping," said Gorman. "My professor wrote, 'way to bring it.'"

Two LSBE students get energized during the two-day workshop.

For Sam Kunjummen, a junior studying organizational management, the lesson he took from the program is the power of the spoken word. "If you speak positively, you'll get positive results." As the president of the campus Leadership Club, he plans on imparting what he has learned to the rest of the group.

Kunjummen says his new outlook has changed the way he studies and helps him stay focused. "I can do anything I set my mind to."

"It's two days of hard work for long-term results," said Penneau. "We tell people to be the best they can be - to be at such an outstanding level that the rest of life feels better." LSBE is interested in bringing the program back to UMD.

Return to the index of the June newsletter

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