New Student Leadership and Service Engagement Program

Aligned with the mission of Soka University of America, the Office of Student Leadership and Service Engagement was created to promote and nurture student leadership and to advance community and service engagement. We kicked off the new academic year with the institution’s first-ever Soka Leadership Summit, held on Sunday, September 8. The summit brought together student leaders from across campus with the goals to unite student leaders with a common vision, inspire students to make a positive impact, and develop leadership competencies. The summit included a keynote address by Edward Feasel, Executive Vice President, who presented five lessons he learned about leadership from his personal experiences with Soka’s founder, Daisaku Ikeda. He was joined by an alumni staff panel that discussed effective strategies for navigating conflict and transforming conflict into opportunities. Dr. Paige Asawa, Co-Founder and Program Director of the Institute for Arts in Medicine at Keck Medicine of USC, spoke about how students can incorporate self-care into daily practice and prioritize wellness throughout their leadership. The summit concluded with a workshop where students passionately discussed how they can shape and drive positive student campus culture together.

The Leadership and Service Engagement Fair was held on Friday, October 11, and introduced various service and leadership opportunities to students. Representatives from organizations such as Laura’s House, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Orange County United Way, and the Tiyya Foundation were present to introduce their work and to sign up students to connect and volunteer with their organization. In addition, students and staff from across many departments and student organizations were there to promote leadership opportunities available to students.