Learning from the best:
Leadership seminar gives students a taste of military life

By Kyle Harrington, ’08

Joe Winter spends much of his time helping students hone their leadership skills. As Loyola’s associate director for student activities, Winter mentors the Student Government Association. While the student leaders he works with can gain valuable skills on campus, he recently discovered a learning experience far from the Evergreen Campus where students can learn from some of the nation’s most respected leaders—the men and women of the United States Armed Forces.

In the thin air of the Rocky Mountains, Winter and three Loyola student leaders joined 3,000 others from colleges across the country in February for three days of hands-on leadership training at the Air Force Academy’s National Character and Leadership Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Student Government Association president Dylan O’Shea, ’08, vice president for social affairs, Michael O’Keeffe, ’08, and incoming president Alex Hollis, ’09, interacted with cadets, attended workshops and networked with peers. 

The seminar, which included presentations from keynote speakers and small group discussions, had a personal touch to it. Participants in the workshop interacted with cadets, sharing meals with them and sleeping in the dormitories.

“One of the best parts of the conference was that the cadets shared their dormitories with us,” said O’Keeffe, who along with O’Shea, attended the conference for a second time after having a great experience at the 2007 event. “We followed a slightly less strict regimen than the cadets, but we still woke up to reveille each morning, and officers checked in on us each night to make sure we were in our bunks.”

According to Winter, each college can send three students to the conference, and Loyola selects delegates through an application process that includes an essay. Winter says the experience helps the attendees with leadership skills and gives the students a chance to make friends and gain a better understanding of military life.

“We had made friends with some of the cadets last year,” said O’Shea, “and it was great to see them again and meet some of the newer guys. They are all very outgoing and welcoming, so it was a pleasure to return.”

Winter, who is an officer in the Maryland Air National Guard, began taking students on the trip two years ago.

“The strength of this conference lies in its interaction with the cadets,” said Winter. “The students learn helpful leadership tactics and ideas, but they see the cadets putting these ideas into practice, and it gives a tangible example for our students. Plus, who better to learn leadership from than an institution based on leadership?”