Student Leadership Model: Providing students opportunities to grow » By Austin Cary
At any given moment BYU-Idaho students participating in Service Activities can be found serving in a wide range of settings. From the elderly in Adopt-a-Grandparent and the youth in afterschool programs to struggling families in the Family Crisis Center and the hungry who come to the Mobile Food Truck, this inspiring influence in the community is made possible through the Student Leadership Model. The last issue of News & Notes explored the principles of the leadership model, which include helping students to elevate their vision, build confidence, strengthen testimonies, hone skills, and open opportunities for carriers and higher education. John Ochs, a biology major and the area director of Service Activities, is one of many students who has been able to realize his personal goals by applying the principles of the Student Leadership Model.
When Ochs arrived at BYU-Idaho three semesters ago he wanted to overcome his fear of leading. His initial love for service and the confidence other student leaders expressed in his capacity to learn and lead helped him muster the courage to accept a leadership position in Service Activities. “It was intimidating for me,” said Ochs. “I didn’t have much experience in leading. It took much help from the Lord and from my peers in Service Activities for me to learn how to lead.” He started out being in charge of a few projects. Now, three semesters later, he leads over 70 student leaders and oversees all the service projects in Service Activities. It is impossible to measure the impact this experience will have in Ochs’ life. Even more impressive is that his experience is common among the hundreds of other students involved in the Student Leadership Model each semester.
“The success of the Student Leadership Model is not based on numbers. It is “The growth I have seen within based on the growth of the students,” said myself has been really important Ochs. “As students participate they learn Adopt-a-Grandparent is just one of the ways BYU-Idaho students are able to serve in the Student Activities Program. to me,” said Ochs. “My college how to become Christ-like leaders. You experience would definitely not have can see this change in the students. They been the same if I didn’t get involved with Service Activities.” become better people, which affects how they will contribute in their communities, in the church, at work, and in their families.”
Economics faculty establish micro-enterprise and nutrition project in Ghana » By Brock Allen
Stephen McGary and Jeremy Slade, both faculty members in the Department of Economics, after months of research and preparation are traveling to Ghana to help establish a microenterprise and nutrition project. McGary and Slade have been working with the Ghanaian Golden Sunbeam School, which is owned by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The school has been in operation for 25 years, but until three years ago was only an elementary school. The addition of the high school came after the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Ohene Opare, noticed an unsettling trend. “They found that these kids were reverting back to what they had before, back into poverty, they didn’t have skills to help them gain the money to provide for food or nutrition,” said McGary.
l
2 B Y U - I DA H O N E W S & N O T E S
Seeing this happen, the Opares decided they would have to create a place where these children could learn the vocational skills necessary to provide for themselves, and their family. They decided to build high school where they could teach their students “some type of enterprise, or entrepreneurial opportunities for them to be employed, or improve their living standard, and be more self-sufficient rather than just receiving food-aid,” said McGary. In accordance with this vision, and through much research, McGary and Slade have found a machine called the SoyCow, which will bring nutrition to the school, as well as teach the students vocational skills. With raw soybeans and water the SoyCow can make milk, soya cheese (tofu), and even yogurt. It is a perfect machine for continued on page 6