Listen to Dave discuss this topic on
The College Speaker Series
on the CampusTalkRadio Network.

“The program designed to teach you 3 things in 30 minutes. Guaranteed!”

As a former student leader myself, and as a long-time college student leadership trainer, I have run more than 100 recruitment tables at campus activities fairs and club days and have seen what works and a lot of what doesn’t. Something that I do not think works is for members to sit behind a table waiting for students to come talk to them. Unless your club’s name really jumps out at a student, they will not come to talk to you if you are sitting behind the table. Plus, it is very easy for you to not convey interest, excitement, and energy about your organization while you are sitting.

Get rid of your chairs! Give them to one of your competitors and let them sit. Push your table back a little and then get in the flow of traffic by standing in front of your table. This puts you out where the students are and gives you a chance to make eye contact with them and approach them as they go by. These simple steps can dramatically improve your recruitment efforts and give your organization the members that it needs to be successful. Use your organization defining statement to get students to come over to your table and then show off your organization to them. Get rid of the chairs and get ready for an influx of new members!

Click here to see — > What your recruiters should say once they’re out  front… Hear Dave discuss this topic on “The College Speaker Series” on CampusTalkRadio

I choose nurturing. Relationships – regardless of whether it’s romantic, parent/child or professional – take more than a little effort and work. It’s better to do the work upfront than to wonder later on what happened to the bond. There are a few simple things you can do to maintain your parental bond, and any family bonds, with your college student.

1. Keep in contact via text, email, Facebook, Twitter or even a blog. I know some parents are adverse to text messaging, but if your child is into it then make an effort. My Georgia College & State University student, Amber, is a text queen. It doesn’t interrupt either of our days, or her classes to send a quick text with a question or to say hello and let her know I’m thinking of her. Same for email, Facebook and Twitter. I don’t have a child who wants me to stay out of her social media world so we communicate via Facebook and email occasionally. It’s quick, easy and effective. Amber, for her part, sometimes keeps up with what’s going on at home by reading my blog. She can do that when she has time and feels like it, and it saves her from my long, drawn out stories. Well, mostly.
2. Send care packages, inexpensive surprise gifts and cards. Amber loves to receive mail and she appreciates the little things. I send her little packages containing items that she likes: gum, Chapstick, fingernail polish, chocolate and the like. Or I mail a little gift and/or card to let her know I’m here if she needs me or simply to encourage her. Sometimes college teens feel like their “at home” family has forgotten about them and they don’t belong any longer. This lets them know that they’re thought of often and cared about a great deal.
3. Schedule a regular phone call. This is especially important if there are younger siblings or if your newly independent young adult was a little apprehensive about leaving home. Amber’s youngest sibling is 3 years old and her sense of time is not quite on point so she asks for Amber quite often: “Is she coming back?” “Is she still at college?” Having Amber speak to her siblings over the phone maintains their bond and connection. On the other hand, Amber knows she can call at anytime if she needs something or just wants to talk. For instance, she called yesterday to vent about a girl in one of her classes. It’s those brief conversations – even in the midst of busy days and classes – that continue to strengthen our relationship.
4. Plan weekend or overnight visits, day trips or meet ups. For some this may seem unrealistic or not doable, but you have to think outside the box. Even if your student attends college out of state, you can schedule a family vacation around the time of family fun day on campus or have a long weekend away to focus on something the college student wants to do. If your student lives in a suite instead of a regular dorm room having a “slumber” party is a good idea. (More information about this below.) If your child has a car you can plan to meet at a halfway point for lunch or a day of shopping.

One weekend in September my three younger children – ages 3, 5 and 6 – and I spent the night with Amber in her dorm. Let me tell you how that came about: A few times last year, when Amber was a freshman, she suggested we visit and spend the day or a night. I never got up the energy to do that with the three younger children, but about two weeks ago I thought it would be a good idea. She agreed and I made the two-hour drive, trio in tow, to her campus. Amber lives in a suite with three other roommates that are often gone during the weekends so accommodations and space weren’t a problem.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-CrsshtOYk

Although it was a lot of work to pack up the little people for an overnight trip, it was well worth it. All of the siblings got a chance to spend time together, Amber was able to get some errands done and go to stores she can’t go to on a regular basis, and the two of us had a chance to chat, “play” pool (you really can’t call what we did playing the game!), go for a walk and generally enjoy each others’ company.

A few things to keep in mind when scheduling overnight stays in the dorm:

1. Have your student check dorm and campus policies as well as talk to roommates.
2. Double check when parking passes are needed.
3. Do it at a time that’s convenient for both parties.
4. Have fun.
5. Don’t delay, plan today.

If you have any ideas on how to maintain parental and sibling bonds with your college student, take a moment to leave a comment and share. Don’t have any ideas? Take a moment to tell me what you think of this post. And, don’t forget, every relationship needs to be nurtured.

First-time college mom
Petula
PetulaW.com

Here’s a book I recommend that will help you to not take the bonding and staying connected thing too far: The iConnected Parent: Staying Close to Your Kids in College (and Beyond) While Letting Them Grow Up by Barbara K. Hofer and Abigail Sullivan Moore.

“…many parents are in constant contact with their college students via cell phone, texting, email, Facebook, and Skype. But daily contact, they contend, hinders growth, robs kids of their ability to make decisions and learn from mistakes, and detracts from their college experience. The authors also discovered that parents have become increasingly involved in academic matters; many edit their children’s papers via email, and intervene in academic decisions such as choosing majors or contacting professors. This “hypermanaging” trend often continues after college and into a career search. Urging moderation, Hofer and Moore point out that excessive communication is not useful for students, and also adds to parental anxiety. Instead, they suggest that before their child leaves for school, parents create a mutually agreeable “calling plan” that takes the student’s need for independence and self-reliance into account.” – Publisher’s Weekly

See larger image The iConnected Parent: Staying Close to Your Kids in College (and Beyond) While Letting Them Grow Up (Hardcover) By (author) Barbara K. Hofer, Abigail Sullivan Moore List Price: $25.00 USD New From: $0.01 In Stock Used from: $0.01 In Stock Release date August 10, 2010.

I like reaching goals.

I am an achievement junkie.

I am really into setting an objective, quantifying it, putting together a plan, and then going after it with everything that I have.

That is cool to me. It gives me energy and excitement. Provides purpose.

When I was in elementary school, I set a goal of being 6’3” tall. I am 6’2”. Not bad. Almost got there. Betcha didn’t know height is controlled by goal setting! Are you short? Raise the bar, set a higher goal!

Sometimes, though, it makes me do goofy things. Take for example, “Gonzo’s Great Gold Quest”. This was my attempt to achieve my goal of qualifying as a Gold Medallion member of Delta Airlines Sky Miles program.

Why was that important?

Because I had missed it by only a few thousand miles each of the past three years. So, earlier in the fall, I started plotting to see if I could make it to Gold without having to take any extraneous/unnecessary flights. [Delta requires you to actually fly the miles for MQM status except in cases of certain credit card holders] I was well positioned coming into the fall, as I was more than half-way to my goal. My first gig of the fall was in southern Texas. That’s a long way from Atlanta! Alas, Delta could not get me to my airport destination: Midland/Odessa. Welcome back, Continental, my old friend. Seeing Kirk Cameron (“Growing Pains”) on my flight from Houston to Midland/Odessa was a small consolation for not adding to my Delta total.

I added miles on subsequent trips, but then hit a few speed bumps. Georgia Southern University? Great school, had an awesome time. Three hour drive from my house and no commercial airport in Statesboro. Blackhawk Technical College in southern Wisconsin on Friday and Waubonsee Community College about an hour and half south of there on Saturday? Great! Flew up on Delta! Problem. Two gigs, one flight. And the only return that worked was on the Friendly Skies of United.

This type of subversion of my goal continued throughout the fall. Until finally, I calculated that I was going to come up 8,850 miles short of my goal, missing Gold for a third straight year. What to do?

I started plotting flights to Seattle, Anchorage, Los Angeles, anywhere that I could rack up miles. But, the costs were too prohibitive. What to do?

Then, I lucked out. On the day after Thanksgiving I found my answer. I was messing around with a couple of different travel sites as well as the Delta site, when I came across a $270 round trip airfare from Atlanta to LAX. What? How could that be? But, there it was. If I flew from Atlanta to LAX on Tuesday, December 15, I could fly there and then right back for that low price and pick up 3,892 miles. Boy, was this great!

But, it would still leave me over 5,000 miles short of my goal. Hmmmm, is it possible to do this roundtrip scenario and then… Could I do it again?

A few clicks on my keyboard and yes, I could do it again, and for the same price. I would fly from Atlanta to LAX at 7:30 in the morning, landing at 9:29 am local time and then return on the same plane at 10:40 am, arriving into Atlanta at 5:30 pm. I would have to change concourses, but I could then get on a flight back to LAX at 6:40 pm, which would arrive there at 8:50 pm. I would have a two-hour layover, until 10:55 pm before I would board the return trip to Atlanta. This would get me within 1100 miles of my Gold status!

It meant, however, that I had to find somewhere else to fly inexpensively. Chicago was not enough miles, New York was too expensive. Memphis and Savannah were close, but the pricing and timing would not work. Wait! I grew up in Wisconsin and go back there to speak. Milwaukee is 669 miles away according to Delta. So, if I fly roundtrip…

I would have it! Genius! Except for one thing…

How do I sell this to Honey Sweetie Darling, otherwise known as my wife?

“Duh dunt duuuuuuuhhhh!” (he said in a dramatic voice)…

She had been running some errands on this day. I waited to see what kind of mood she was in when she came home. Bought some new clothes for our daughter, got all of her errands done, seemed happy enough. This seemed like as good a time as any to bring up this subject.

I was wrong.

“You want to do what?” she asked incredulously. I stayed calm and like Ralphie going for a Red Ryder BB gun, I maintained my focus. I showed her the travel sites and all of the flights that I had saved. I discussed the cost with her, but pointed out that by making it to Gold status, I could earn a free flight four times faster, which would cover some of the cost, and my Sky Club membership would be less. I also promised to write about the trip (here I am!) in order to hopefully reap some business benefit as a result. After all of my cajoling, she agreed but wanted to know, “When do I get to go on a silly trip?”

Some questions just can’t be answered in the moment.

I quickly set about booking the flights, so she could not change her mind. Within about 45 minutes, all flights were booked and I was committed to this project. I got really excited and started to tell other people about it. A good friend of mine just smiled and his eyes glossed over. “I want to go” was all he could say. Sorry, this would be my adventure. Over 9,000 miles in 30 hours. How fun was this going to be!

Or so I thought. The closer the trip got, the more I had second thoughts…

“What if the weather is bad?”

“What am I going to do all of that time?”

“What if I run into a travel delay somewhere along the line?”

“What if Delta finds some way not to award me Gold status?”

“What am I doing?”

I was a little nervous, but that kept the adrenaline flowing. Then I got an idea. Why not submit this trip to the Guinness Book of World Records for consideration as a world record. I went to their web site and found I could submit my request on line. I submitted it for consideration as “Most Miles Flown on Commercial Airlines within the Continental United States in a 24-Hour Period”. I was just submitting the ATL to LAX portions, 7784 miles. I was hoping to hear from them before I took the trip, but the web site told me that it takes 3-4 weeks to certify a record attempt. I could have paid to “fast track” it, but since I was going to fly anyway, I didn’t see any point in that. Now my trip was taking on some exciting dimensions. I recorded a video in my basement talking about the trip to let my friends and social media followers know what was going on.

I wanted to do more, though, so I hit upon an idea. What if I were to make a video of me getting ready for my big day, “practicing” some of the stuff that I would experience? I got very excited and enlisted my friend Marc and we went to the local mall and shot me doing things like running through the airport—in slow motion, riding escalators, grabbing food on the run, and more. We called it “Gonzo’s Gold Quest Preview”  and we did the video on the Saturday prior to Tuesday, the day my travel would begin.

I had a hard time going to sleep the night before this trip. I had my alarm set for 4 am and I think I got about 2 ½ hours of sleep. I was scared to go to sleep, lest I oversleep and miss the whole thing! That did not happen and I put on some comfortable clothes and got ready to go to the airport. I asked my wife to send out a note to my e-newsletter list about the trip and to encourage people to watch Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for updates. She shot a picture of me that was clearly posed, but with a 5:30 am backdrop.

I drove to the airport, parked, and headed into the terminal. I had no bags to check, since I intended to wear the same clothes the whole trip. Hey, if I can live with myself, so can the people around me. It also meant that once I went through security in Atlanta, I could complete all six of my flights without having to go back through again.

My first flight, from Atlanta to LAX was from Gate T-4, which is right past security. This was a good break, since I would not have to ride the train to get to my concourse. I hit the Delta Sky Club to use some free internet to update Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Then, I headed to the gate and boarded the plane. I am seated in the back section of the plane, in the first row past the bulkhead. Nobody is seated on either side of me.

I sat in the middle seat, feeling like Captain Kirk, with the huge monitor in front of me. I would be able to follow my flight all across the country. When I was awake. Since I did not get a lot of sleep, I thought that I would spend most of this first flight sleeping. I was just about to doze off when the pilot came on to tell us about the flight ahead of us.

I am not making this up.

Our pilot was “American Top 40’s” Casey Kasem. “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Our flight today should be smooth and last about 4 hours. Just enough time to count down the hits. Let’s start with a long distance dedication from Delta to Gonzo. Written by John Denver in 1966, it is “Leaving on a Jet Plane”. As I am listening to the song and drifting off to sleep, I heard the pilot come over the intercom and say, “And now, on with the countdown.”

I might have been a little sleep-deprived and that could be affecting my memory.

I woke up when the food cart came by and I got an Egg Salad Wrap. A delicious blend of cream cheese, spicy Pepper Jack cheese, and Boars Head Mesquite Smoked Turkey. It was topped with egg salad, roasted red peppers, black beans, and then rolled inside sun-dried tomato pitas, making two perfect snack sized wraps. Served with a side of salsa. $7.00

The guy across the aisle got a bag of peanuts. Free.

I might have gotten ripped off.

My plan was to run to the Sky Club as soon as I landed to update Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The flight goes well. I wake up with a little turbulence over Memphis, but go back to sleep a little while later. When I wake up again, I see hills and mountains out the right hand side of the plane. There is snow on top of some of the peaks. It is a beautiful sight. We are near LA. How cool!

I still have over 7,000 miles to go before I am done.

Got off the plane, took a picture with my cell phone of an “I Love LA” store to prove I was there and went to the Sky Club. I got my boarding pass for the return to Atlanta since I could not get it on-line.

Here is my update post from Facebook, no time to record a video:

AT LAX, 1st leg done! 1941 miles covered, 7062 to go. Slept most of flight. Back to ATL at 1:30 EST, writing my Sermon on the Mount book. Btw, showing how to buckle a seat belt?? Really, FAA, really? If you can’t buckle on the ground, when you fly, you get bounced around! Food so far? Mmmm, peanuts. Tasty, tasty peanuts. They started boarding my flight back to Atlanta at 9:50 am, I get to the gate at 10:00 am. There is a long line, however, as a Silver Medallion member I have breezeway privileges. It is a wonderful thing! I cruise past the line and get on the plane. I have an exit row, bulk head seat. Sweet! I do not have the aisle, but that is OK. There is actually space between my seat and the wall of the plane. The guy in the window seat in the row behind me is able to stretch his legs out next to my seat. I sleep some more and, apparently, I snore. I wake up at one point, over Memphis when things were a little shaky, and I am looking towards the interior of the plane. The guy in the aisle seat next to me is staring right at me.

Clearly, he hates me. I don’t care. I doze off again, only to be awakened by a presence. I look up and there is “Stretch” from the row behind me, sliding past me, between my seat and the wall on his way to the restroom. He is wearing an inflatable pillow on the back of his neck, kind of like the HANS device that race car drivers wear. The only thing I can think of is, “Are we swapping paint with another plane” (Yes, I have watched some NASCAR in my time.)

We land in Atlanta at gate T-1. My flight back to LAX leaves from gate E-10. You almost can not be further apart between two gates. I grab a Nathan’s 15-piece hot dog nugget pack and head for the train. Quick stop in the Sky Club for an update:

½ way to my 24 hour goal! Flight back to LAX in a few mins from ATL. Already flown 3,882 miles today to end up right back where I started! I have an upgrade for the morning flight to Milwaukee. That means a big, comfy seat to sleep in!

I run out. I make it, again with seconds to spare. This plane is huge. They have the sleeper seats in 1st and Business Class. They look so cool. I am in seat 49G, aisle. Pretty far back in the plane. The couple next to me are nice, quiet, small. I nod hello to them and wonder, “Would they fit in the overhead compartment”. I’m just saying. Then I could pull up the arm rests and sleep. Fortunately for them, the overhead is full. Oh well, they don’t take up much space.

I wait until I watch the safety video to put on my seat belt. Don’t want to do it wrong. “What? I can’t smoke on the flight? Really? Now , what do I do? Oh, yeah. I don’t smoke, so no problem. I also prefer not to drown, so let’s avoid that whole water landing thing, too, OK?”

Getting late and the day is long, so I just sorta watch TV and doze. I have a great flight attendant in my area named Judy. She has been with Delta for 42 years. So you know she can write her own ticket and fly when she wants. We chat and she gives me extra peanuts. I am in the exit row, aisle seat, bulkhead by the restrooms. The guy next to me apparently considers his airfare to be a cover charge and the plane a giant cocktail lounge in the air. He keeps running Judy back and forth for Jack and Cokes. Eventually he falls asleep. Thank goodness! I fall asleep, too.

Until…

Apparently the movie ended and a lot of people got up to use the restroom at the same time. I hear noises back and forth across both sides of the plane from the restrooms kind of like an airborne “Battleship” game. Judy gets so disgusted she starts spraying Channel #5 in the air. I have never enjoyed smelling like a Delta flight attendant so much in my life. Near the end of the flight I swear I saw Napoleon Dynamite’s brother come out of the bathroom.

So, now I am in LAX for two hours. I get my first full meal of the day and start thinking about my next move. Then it hits me. Hamsters! My daughter, Little One, and I play a game where we pretend to be hamsters. She is a big Hannah Montana fan and so one day I altered some of the lyrics to “Party in the USA” to be “Party in the Hamster Cage”. She took it the rest of the way and finished the parody for us. The real song starts out, “I hopped off the plane in LAX…” and our parody is, “I hopped out the cage in LAX…” And here I was in LAX! Time to pull out the digital recorder!

I found an area that did not have a lot of people in it, right across from the “I Love LA” store. I set my backpack up on a vacant counter at the gate and prop up the camera. There was a weird guy next to me doing something on his computer, but this was the best spot to do my video. I did not have all of the lyrics memorized, but I went for it anyway. The result is at this link on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icW8tO936Ik.

My wife thought Little One and I should shoot a rendition of the song together, so in late January 2010, we recorded a duet. We call the “character” Hamster Montamster. Here is that video:

Back to the trip.

I edit my video in the Sky Club, freshen up a little and hit the plane at 10:30 pm. Once again, the breezeway is my friend. Back in the exit row, with the bulkhead. I love that row. I talk with my seat mate who is a college student at a Baptist college outside of Los Angeles. She is from South Carolina and headed home for Christmas break. We talk for a while, then she falls asleep. I want to sleep, but can’t. In my delirium of flight, I get an inspiration…

What if David Letterman gets wind of this trip. I mean, come on, this is the ultimate stupid human trick. 9,000 miles in 30 hours. I decide he would love the idea and invite me to come on the “Late Show” to do a Top Ten List, “Top 10 Things About Flying 9,000 Miles on Commercial Airlines in 30 Hours”:

#10: Wearing the same clothes for two days in a row

#9: All of the non-stressed, pleasant people who work for the airlines

#8: TSA never got suspicious of the same guy coming through security five times in 24 hours, but my grandma flies once in her life and gets strip-searched

#7: Guinness World Records certifies longest fingernails of all time, but ignores me

#6: Flying 9,000 miles while going commando

#5: Being lulled to sleep by the oceanic sounds of the restrooms

#4: Crashing a White House dinner (Oh yeah, that was the other idiots)

#3: No number 3, writer recording Miley Cyrus video parody as a swamp rat

#2: Tried riding a pogo stick all of the way on one flight; Guinness still yawns

#1: Peanuts, baby, peanuts!

I fall asleep, until…

Memphis. Are you kidding me? I fly over this city four times in one day and have turbulence every time. I can only guess it is caused by the residual effect of millions of hip gyrations from Elvis Presley causing seismic fluctuations over the area.

I make it back to Atlanta and I have almost three hours before my flight to Milwaukee. I am looking forward to my first class upgrade. “Yay! Gonna sleep. Yay!” I head to the Sky Club to update my Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter and record a mid-trip update. You can watch it at the link below. I reference the making of the hamster video, but if you made it this far, then you have already seen it. Here’s the video anyway

My on-line update is:

2/3 thru Gonzo’s Great Gold Quest! Awesome to set a goal & have experience of achieving.

Obviously my verbosity is waning.

After grabbing breakfast, off to the gate for my Milwaukee flight. I settle into my big comfy, first class seat and all I can think is that we do not fly over Memphis! I am about to drift off to sleep, when I hear something strange. This is one of the older Delta planes. They do not have video screens throughout the plane, so they have to actually speak the safety script over the intercom and physically demonstrate it. The head flight attendant says, “Fasten the seat belt while seated…” How else would you do it? I doze off and dream that I am a crash test dummy.

Technology is great for travelers, but sometimes it does not cooperate. For some reason, I have not been able to print my boarding pass for the return from Milwaukee to Atlanta. So, I know that as soon as I get off the plane I know I have to immediately get my boarding pass at the ticket counter in Milwaukee for the return trip. We land after cruising in over Lake Michigan and I am psyched to get myself squared away for the last leg of my journey. I walk up the jet way and…

Head straight to the nearest seller of hot dogs.

So good. Yum! I log on to check email. Check the bank accounts. Credit card statement. Hmmm, what am I forgetting? Oh yeah, I have to head home! I run to the gate, the flight is nearly all boarded and they have given away my sweet exit row seat. So, I get seat 37A, right next to the restrooms. Soon, I am drifting away to the sounds of the ocean emanating from the restrooms.

I awake upon our arrival in Atlanta and I am really hungry. I want steak. The best I can do in the airport is steak fajitas. I savor them. Next step is to leave the secured area of the airport. I walk towards it with trepidation. Is my journey really done? Do I have all of the miles I need? I cross the line that you cannot come back from crossing and a bright light shines upon me…

I am Gold! What a great feeling! A few weeks later I find out that Guinness doesn’t think my effort is worthy of recognition (after all, it is not the “Most hand claps in 24 hours” record). But, I have a new mission in life. To be the best I can be—in all aspects of my life. If I simply put forth the same effort I did on this trip, then I can achieve all of the goals that I have for my life.

What is your “Gold Quest”? Share it below, or comment on how others can make their quests become real.

So, I joined the Scouts and when I got into high school, I joined a student organization dedicated to community service. It was in these organizations that I had my first formal leadership experiences. I found that through serving others, I was learning more about myself and how to be an effective leader.

As I moved on to college, I continued my community service involvement and sought out leadership opportunities. I moved up the ranks of Circle K International and eventually served as International President. I got to travel the world and speak to groups large and small. I was even on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. Twice!

I really enjoyed traveling, speaking and helping college students to achieve their goals and make great things happen. I became a state advisor for Circle K in Georgia and loved working with students and watching their leadership abilities grow through serving others. This led me to the career I now have as a collegiate speaker, mentor, and trainer.

Servant leadership is a term that was coined by Robert Greenleaf, an AT&T executive, in the late 60’s. He wrote the titular essay on the subject and posited that true leadership grows out of an attitude of service to others. The work he started continues today (www.greenleaf.org) and is carried out in the work of students everywhere.

I believe there are five reasons why you should want to involve your students in community service and five ways that you can implement community service into your student leadership programs. Part 1 of this blog post addresses the “whys” - the “hows” are covered in Part 2.

The “Five Whys” of Community Service

1) Servant leadership instills in students a life-time commitment to serving others. My daughter Amanda was introduced to community service through my Circle K involvement. At the age of six, she participated with me at a health fair for the local children’s hospital. The next year, she started the “Secret Service Club” at her elementary school. It was a group of students who worked to keep the grounds clean of garbage. She continued to be involved with service, was elected to the student council in elementary school, and joined service groups while in middle and high school. When she was 16, we started going on mission trips with our church to St. Lucia. She has a real love for the people of that country and the work that goes on there.

This is the type of commitment that I see over and over again from students who are involved in community service. Wouldn’t you be proud to be sending graduates of your school out all over the world, serving others and spreading the values they learned from your programs? These leaders will be making a difference for many years to come, changing their world and ours!

“I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” – Mahatma Gandhi

2) Involvement in community service becomes a natural component of their life. I spoke at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy a few years ago. After my program, one of the cadets took me on a tour of the campus. As we walked around, I noticed that she would pick up pieces of trash. She was really observant, because I never saw them! After a while, I asked her if she was expected to do this, if it was part of the honor code for the cadets. “No”, she replied, “I just do this on my own. I figure if I pick up one piece of trash every day, there will be 365 less pieces of trash in the world each year.” For her, it was a natural thing to do. If you get your students involved in community service, then servant leadership will become a natural part of who they are. (Watch the accompanying video - Servant Leadership: You Always Win With Service - for more on this story and another personal example of “natural service.”)

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” – Mother Teresa

3) Develop leadership through service learning (servant leadership). By involving your students in community service, they will learn lessons they cannot get anywhere else. I feel as though I learned as much or more from my co-curricular involvements (mostly community service) than I did in my classes! And over the years that I was an advisor for Circle K, I said this often at new club charter banquets, often with the college president in attendance. And they would agree with me! Service learning is hands-on learning that will last a lifetime.

In his book, Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness, Greenleaf wrote: “The servant-leader is servant first…It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.”

“Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

4) Community service provides value and benefit to campus organizations while enhancing the individual student’s educational experience. Campus organizations that involve themselves in community service, true service, provide a real opportunity for their members. Members get to serve others, providing them with positive experiences. They can see results and the experience becomes part of the background of their education. This enhances their critical thinking skills and they understand the connection between actions and results.

The service has to be meaningful though. I was a member of an honor society in college and we were required to do three projects per year: 1) community or campus service; 2) a cultural activity; and 3) a social activity. So, once a year, we would volunteer to be ushers at a campus play, stay to watch the play, and then go out for pizza afterwards. See ya next year! Make sure the students are involved, not just going through the motions to meet a campus requirement. Tell them to get their hands dirty and participate, not just sit on the sidelines.

When I was Circle K International President, I went out to a day of service near Los Angeles and while I was raking leaves and digging up weeds at the home of an elderly person, I saw the local chapter and state leaders leaning on a car chatting and laughing. I admonished them for their lack of hands-on involvement and got them to help with the work. Make sure everyone participates in the service activities!

“I believe…that every human mind feels pleasure in doing good to another.” – Thomas Jefferson

5) Service learning programs can provide demonstrable results to your campus administration, particularly in light of diminishing programming and campus activities dollars. Community service doesn’t cost much, if anything! It is a valuable commodity in these days of limited resources. You can also see the results. You can count the number of service hours performed by your students. You can ask them to write blogs or essays on their experiences. They can Facebook and Twitter about what they have learned. Community service gives you tangible results that you can show to those who oversee your departments and approve your budgets. Here’s the thing: would you rather show successful service results or have to explain why you had a foul-mouthed comedian on your campus who contributed absolutely nothing to your student’s educational experience?

“It’s not about what you have or what you’ve accomplished. It’s about who you’ve lifted up and made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.” - Academy Award® Winner Denzel Washington

So, those are five whys, along with thoughts of great servant leaders. Part 2 of my blog post  will suggest five ways to get your students involved in community service.

What student service success stories do you have? Share them in the comments section below.

Building Leaders Through Community Service…
Go To Part 2 of this series

SEE ALSO: “Building Leaders Through Service” – a workshop by Dave Gonzo Kelly, America’s student leadership Trainer(sm).

See larger image Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness 25th Anniversary Edition (Hardcover) By (author) Robert K. Greenleaf, Larry C. Spears List Price: $24.95 USD New From: $15.00 In Stock Used from: $9.57 In Stock

Are you in a rut, bunky? Feeling like every day is like the day before? And you are certain that you are not caught up in a “Star Trek” or “Groundhog Day” like time loop?

I have an idea for you!

Change things up! Do something impulsive, unusual, or out of your world. Go for a bike ride, take a dance class, or apply to be an astronaut. An astronaut? Sure! You might not make it, but would it not be cool to go through the interview process?

Or take a trip. As a professional speaker, I travel a lot. My primary airline is Delta Airlines, since I travel from Atlanta, and I annually qualify as a “Silver Medallion” frequent flyer (25,000 miles flown in a calendar year). Each of the past three years I have fallen 5-6,000 miles short of “Gold Medallion” status (50,000 miles). That is very frustrating, because as a “Silver” I get one bonus mile for every four that I fly. As a “Gold”, I would get a one to one, plus a higher priority for upgrades, and some other perks.

I am currently 9,500 miles short of making it to “Gold” status. I have a flight to Milwaukee at the end of the month that will get me 669 miles. So, how do I get to my coveted status? My goal?

I am doing something different!

I am going to get on a plane in Atlanta on December 15 and fly to LAX airport (1941 miles). Then, I am going to return to Atlanta an hour later (1941 miles). And after I get to Atlanta? I am going to do it again! 3882 miles! That is 7,664 miles in a 24 hour period.

That will leave me around 1,160 miles short of what I need to qualify as a “Gold”. So, upon my return to Atlanta, I will hop a flight to Milwaukee, and fly right back an hour after landing.

Crazy? Yes. Stupid, In some people’s eyes, sure. But, am I excited and looking forward to it? Absolutely! For over 20 years, I did the 9-7, on call all the time, many times working until midnight and hating it. Life is too short not to have some fun and do something goofy.

And I have submitted it to the “Guinness Book of World Records” for consideration as “Most Miles Flown in a 24 Hour period on a Commercial Airline within the Continental United States”. I’ll let you know if they accept it!

This plan of mine might not work for you. I got some incredible airfare deals, or else I would not be doing it. However, what can you do to break your routine? To give yourself something to look forward to? My wife and Little One became members of the Georgia state parks’ Canyon Club. They have already visited two of the four canyons in Georgia and are looking forward to the others.

Break your routine. Be crazy. Do something fun.

By the way, you can follow my adventure, which I am calling “Gonzo’s Great Gold Quest: Delta Airlines and Me” on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. The first of my video updates can be seen at  above.

Feel free to live vicariously through me those days. Happy skies!

I recorded this as I was walking down The Tunnel of Lights in Chicago.

I thought I knew all about this stuff but after just a few minutes with Chris I became aware of a whole new world of distinctions that describe how great we can be. I’m looking forward to learning more about my strengths so I can move forward in a more intentional and powerful way.

Never mind that Carl Sagan sounds like Agent Smith in the Matrix, he was one of the most popular and fascinating scientists of our times. He was an expert in astronomy, astrochemistry and other natural sciences, and he pioneered exobiology or the origin, evolution and future of life in the universe. Boy oh boy, was this some heavy dude or what?

What I love about Carl Sagan is that he connects the dots like none other. He can talk about the universe and space travel and then bring that conversation right down to the universe we carry around on our necks everyday – the amazing human brain.

What if knowing a little bit more about your personal hardware and software could help you improve your study habits and skills and accelerate your ability to learn faster and better. Would you care? As a life-long learner, you should.

Take a chance and check out the following video and listen in on Carls’ wisdom regarding YOUR magnificent brain. One thing for sure, there’s a universe of things to learn about, (and not just Ipods and gadgets) – starting with the universe within.

That’s it that’s all!

Millicent St. Claire

I stayed in Cleveland Thursday night and then drove to Erie, PA and an advisor’s program on Friday afternoon followed by a packed house of around 140 students at Gannon University for a full day leadership retreat. It was awesome! That was followed by a quick drive to Cleveland’s Hopkins Airport and a flight to LaGuardia for a Campus organization Leadership Training (COLT) program at a student leadership conference on Sunday at St. Joseph’s College in Brooklyn.

This blog is not about any of those programs, but, rather, about what I did on my “off” day in Cleveland on Thursday, September 10. I had sent out an email to schools in the Cleveland-Erie corridor letting them know I would be in the area and available for a program on that Thursday. Well, one of the schools that I have previously spoken at, Cuyahoga Community College-East Campus, could not schedule me, but their Director of Student Life and Athletics Rita McKinley invited me to come by their Welcome Week activity that day. It was a cookout with a DJ and caricature artist. I thought this would be fun and a great way to spend my night (rather than just sitting in a hotel), so I agreed to come by. Little did I know what was actually in store for me!

When I got on campus, I found Rita and she took me over to the cookout area, and introduced me to her assistant, Melvin. She told him who I was and that I was there to help…serve food! After deftly picking my jaw up off of the ground, so no one noticed, I said, “Yup, that’s right, put me to work.” And he did! So, for the next couple of hours I served Italian Sausages and corn dogs to the hungry new and returning students (and faculty-they love free food, too!). When I wasn’t serving food, I walked around and talked to students and told them about the free caricature artist (gotta make sure they take advantage of the “free stuff” that they actually pay for through their student fees). The artists were Diana Handley and Roland Naploi from WeAreFun.com. And they were great. The students really appreciated the sketches.

There was also an awesome DJ, Freddie James of Freddie James Djs. He kept the music going and the students were dancing and having fun. One student, Janice, danced while she was in line for the caricature, for the food, and everywhere in between. I tried several times to get her on video and I finally did in the clip that accompanies this blog.

The most surprising thing to me of the night was that it took the Campus Police about an hour to show up for the free food! But, boy did they make up for it when they found us. I never saw so many hot dogs, Italian Sausages, and corn dogs consumed by so few people!

I got to meet some other staff members, including Angie and Mynette, who work in the Student Life office. I really got a sense that these professionals have a servant’s heart and love their students. The cookout was the culmination of three days of Welcome Activities. On Tuesday, the clubs and organizations got to show their wares with tables, a balloon artist kept everyone entertained, and students got to make t-shirts with their own funny sayings on them. Wednesday had a motivational speaker who specializes in study skills–always important! It was a really great way to start the school year, and, as a community college it was fun for the whole family. A number of students brought their kids by to get something to eat and get their caricature done. I enjoyed meeting them and the “night students” who usually do not get a chance to participate in things going on campus due to work and family obligations.

It was really awesome for me to be called on to serve and to dive in and do it and have fun. I believe that service to others is one of the most valuable things we can do. It was a great way to spend a day off. Who knows? Maybe I can serve hot dogs at your school, too!

Please share your welcome activities and ideas in the comment section below and in that way you can be of service to other campus life professionals.

The idea is for the members of the team to have a shared experience, something they can relate to later, joke about, etc. This activity also gets the members of the team out of their comfort zone as they get to relate to each other in a close, but non-threatening way. Things can get silly so it is also a good tension breaker. It also puts members of the team who may be in different levels of leadership on an even plane, other than their ability to contain their laughter.

Here are the instructions for this activity if you wish to try it yourself.

Part 1: Getting set up…

1) Divide the teams into even numbers, if possible. An odd extra person really does not hurt this activity. Either choose the team to have the extra member by random, or let the groups choose by playing up to their pride or through some playful trash talking. I like groups of 10-12, although I have done it with less, and with as many as 23. You want to have big enough groups to make it a challenge, but not so big that it becomes an impossible task. The 23 person group was a board that needed to accomplish a task together and they became cheerleaders for each other.

2) The goal is to have every person participate by lying on the floor with their head on the tummy of another team member. They must say the word “HA” without laughing. Each additional team member adds “HAs” based on what number they are in the chain of bodies.

3) Instruct the group to figure out who their most giggly members are. Those are the people whom they want to lay down earlier in the activity. If any member of the group breaks out in laughter at any time, then they must get everyone up and start over.

Part 2: Here are the steps…

1) The team decides what order they will go in;

2) The first member lies on the floor with his/her knees in the air and says “HA”;

3) The next person (#2) lays down, with his/her head on the tummy of the first person and says, “HA, HA”, person #1 then says “HA”

4) The third person in line lies down with their head on the tummy of person #2, and says “HA, HA, HA”, person #2 then says “HA, HA”, and then person #1 says “HA”.

5) Continue to add people in sequence, with their heads on the tummies on the previous person, increasing the number of “HAs” with each person and each person already laying on the floor repeats their number of HAs until each person has done so. Then another person lies on the floor and the sequence begins again.

6) If any person in the sequence laughs, even just, a little, make the whole group get up and start over.

7) Once the group gets each member on the floor and goes through the sequence without laughing, they are done. The first team to make it all the way through, wins.

A fun variation, after the group has successfully completed the task, is to reverse the “HAs” and go back through. For example, if there are 10 people in the group, then the first person on the floor from before now has to say 10 :HAs:, #2, nine :HAs”, and all the way back down the line. If they falter at this, I suggest not making them get up, just have them start over. This part is not a competition, just a little bit of fun.

We did this activity at VCC right before lunch. This is a good activity to do before a break of some sort in your event. It gets everyone loose and having fun and hopefully that carries on through the break. Who says leadership can’t be fun?!

Gonzo.

I noticed an older gentleman dancing to his heart’s content. I’m sure he was in his 70s, but the energy he exuded was so youthful. His smile was beaming and he was light on his toes. He just looked thrilled to be on the dance floor.

I knew I had to talk with him. I truly value the opinion of elders because they’ve been there and done that and have such a different perspective. I asked him what was his secret for a long and happy life. His advice was simple and profound:

1. Work hard
2. Don’t give up… even when things look dark
3. Dance…it’ll impress the girls and keep you feeling young

Just like with Dr. Andy, the events that shape you today often stick with you your whole life. He had a pimply face, but instead of withdrawing he found a way to overcome. Be an active participant in life with no regrets no matter what life throws your way.

And don’t forget to dance.

Troy

It seems absurd that I would still be nervous about joining a new group. Even as I write this, I think how ridiculous that is. But the fact is that it’s true. So if it’s true for me, it’s not too big a leap to believe that students, student leaders, and even professional staff often have a fear of joining new groups (and maybe even you reading this article ).

So what can we do about this? Since I’m forced to confront this often, I’ve come up with a couple tips for students and student leaders that have been very helpful when reaching out to a new group.

Recently I started playing pickup ice hockey and I applied the tips to help me overcome my fear of joining this new group. These are two of my tips (see the video).

What are your ideas? How do you as an orientation leader get over the fear of working with a new group of freshmen? How do you as an activities advisor, advisor your students to overcome their fears? How would you as a senior help a freshmen get over the anxiety of joining a campus organization?

And more to the point, what are the advantages of overcoming fears like this? (especially from a student or student leader perspective) How does it benefit a student to overcome or cope with this fear in both the long and short term?

Troy

What mountains do you have to climb? What obstacles are presenting themselves to you that are keeping you from getting to where you want to go? Do you have to face “monsters” and “riddles” that seem to come out of nowhere? Have you ever been so close to being in possession of a goal that you couldn’t believe and you almost messed it up because you didn’t know what to do to achieve your objective? That is the story of George.

And it is the story of every one, whether student, parent, teacher, leader, or any of a number of other categories people could be put into. The truth is that you do have a mountain to climb to get to where you want to go. Most people are content to just stay at the base. But those who venture out experience great adventures, highs and lows, and ultimately, success.

What if you had no choice, like George in the story, but to have to climb your mountain? Would you make it to the top? Or would you give up along the way and toss your broken dreams on the pile created by others before you?

We are all students of life. And to create student success, it takes effort. It takes an aversion to fear. It takes the determination necessary to get to the top of our mountains and then accept the victory we have won.

It takes… a Drobble. Share your “George” moments below and may you find your secret of life!

A common activity I facilitate when I do diversity work with student leaders such as Orientation Leaders, RAs or Executive Boards is called “Cross the line.” It’s very well known and widely used. Usually about 10% of the participants have done this activity before with a different group and facilitator. They often come up afterward to tell me about their previous experiences. Some of the stories are more upsetting than others. Sometimes they say how the last time was just interesting but they didn’t learn anything from it. To me, that is such a wasted opportunity. They could have facilitated some powerful growth.

Occasionally I will hear horror stories. Things like, someone crossed the line for something very personal and they got very upset and people started criticizing him- making him more upset, and then other people started coming to his defense and in the end the whole group became polarized and he was so traumatized that he dropped out of school. Whew!

To me, that is facilitation gone horribly wrong. A skillful and wise facilitator could have not only stopped the drama from building but turned the situation into a positive learning experience, and bonded and unified the group, AND helped the student feel supported instead of ridiculed.

I’m telling you all this because I want to impress how important it is to do this activity right. In the wrong hands it can cause emotional damage to an individual and a group. A scary thing is that many people don’t know there is skill involved.

Here’s a common scenario…

You’re at a retreat planning session and you decide that it’s important the training address diversity issues. Some asks, “Does anyone know what we can do?” Possibly an undergrad or grad students says, “Oh, I know a diversity activity. It’s simple. I just read some sentences and they cross a line if it’s true for them.” And then the activity is scheduled in the flow and a committee is formed to come up with some questions and the person who’s idea it was is asked to run it… “Since you know that activity already…”

Does this sound familiar?

Without skill or experience the success or possible catastrophe of the activity is left up to chance. Scary and dangerous!

I know some of you love this activity and really want to do it with your group. I also know that the reality for some of you is – no budget to bring in a professional facilitator and no in-house person who has the knowledge or experience. So what can you do?

“Cross the line” can be done at different intensity levels. It all depends on the questions asked and the amount of build up to it. It can be a nice icebreaker with light questions like: “Cross the line if…you like Pepsi more than Coke…you are involved in a sport…you know what you want to do for a living.” That keeps it light and not too personal.

If you feel ready to go a little deeper with the questions notice the difference between these two very similar examples:

• “Cross the line if you, or someone in your family, or someone that you know has ever been a part of the criminal justice system.”
• “Cross the line if you, or someone in your family has ever been a part of the criminal justice system.”

The second example is much more personal. They are taking a bigger risk by crossing the line, which increases the emotions and the depth to which they are affected.

The other very crucial element that contributes to the intensity has to do with the build-up. This activity will only go as deep as they are ready to go. They go deeper and become more emotionally affected if they feel connected to and supported by the group – if they trust the group and have a bond and common experience. The more work you put into those elements up front, the deeper they can go.

Another variable that supports everything is how you set up the environment.

• One extreme… A brightly lit common area with strangers walking by on their way through the room and the sound of the cafeteria in the background (with maybe a little construction noise too).
• The other extreme… A private room with dim lighting and no windows (or windows overlooking nature with absolutely no chance of others walking by) and soft music like Enya playing in the back ground.

This is a wonderful activity- just use it with care.

I’d be interested to hear from you. Do you have any horror stories/success stories? What tips help to create success? What should we make sure not to say/do? Do you know of any particularly powerful questions, or terrible questions, or controversial questions?

Good facilitating to you,

Troy

p.s. Below is a video of my wife, Karin Malkowski Stende, presenting this program. I hope you find it useful.

Please note that this is just a snap shot of the program and not meant to be a tutorial on how to facilitate the activity.

This video is a version we do with much larger groups in a keynote-type setting as opposed to an intimate workshop. This was filmed at a new student orientation for a college in Florida. We had done a lot of work with this group to get them to a place where they were ready to fully engage in the activity. Without creating a level of safety and trust with this group of strangers the program would have been treated as a joke. Needless to say, the set up was very important.

p.p.s. You can learn more about our philosophy behind the way we do diversity training in this short video.

Listen to Dave discuss this topic on
The College Speaker Series
on the CampusTalkRadio Network.

“The program designed to teach you 3 things in 30 minutes. Guaranteed!”

Do you belong to a club or organization on campus? Are you the advisor for a group? Ever have to tell people the name of the organization and then have to explain what it means? I know the feeling.

I used to be the District Administrator for the Georgia District of Circle K International. I was responsible for 28 chapters, including helping them to effectively recruit members. I went to campus after campus and watched our student leaders struggle with trying to explain what Circle K was—and what it was not! “No, we are not the Circle K that is the convenience stores.” “We are not a dude ranch with horses.” “We don’t dance in circles, although you can if you want to.” It really became a problem. That is until I came up with the idea of having a defining statement.

Tell people what you do, rather than using the name of the organization. For Circle K in Georgia, we went from asking students, “Would you like to join Circle K?” to “Are you interested in community service?” Our positive response rate went from “Huh?” to 85%!

Belong to a fraternity or sorority? I suggest using “Are you interested in leadership development? Or “Do you want to make lifelong friends?” If you spout out the name, it might all just be Greek to them. (Oh yes, I did just go there!)

Watch the accompanying video for more ideas and then share your defining statements.

Yours in service,

Dave “Gonzo” Kelly

Hear Dave discuss this topic on “The College Speaker Series” on CampusTalkRadio

My own leadership experiences in clubs and organizations as a student were some of the best times of my life. I had fun, I learned so much, and I got to try things and even make mistakes when the stakes were not that high. My leadership development was through these experiences and interactions with other people. I learned about conflict resolution, motivation techniques, team leadership development, and got to travel all over the country attending educational leadership conferences. Then I would come back to the classroom and apply my experiences to the material being taught.

One particular professor that I liked, Dr. Zillur Khan, taught classes on leadership, dynamics in organizations, and group behaviors. He and I would get into dialogues in class about topics that I could relate to my activities and the rest of the class had a hard time keeping up! I remember one time he said to me, “Why don’t you and I go and talk about this in the hallway while the rest of them read about it and try to catch up?” You bet I got an “A” in that class!

When I speak at leadership retreats, educational leadership conferences, or just present workshops, I am always aware that the involvements that students have are directly related to student retention. If they have fun, enjoy the activity, and grow as a result, then their education experience is enhanced and they are more likely to remain in school at the college or university they are attending. Student motivation is easier when they are having fun!

The students that I have worked with in clubs and organizations are typically more energetic, motivated, and goal-oriented. They are used to getting things done! That carries over to their class work and, hopefully, to all aspects of their life, for the rest of their life! Get them involved and they will create their own success story.

you knew how your brain worked you’d never pull one anyway! All you’re doing is blowing the darned thing out!

As an accelerative learning specialist, I help you get how your brain works and show you how to use it to learn anything – without blowing a fuse. The next time you think about camping out, overdosing on pizza and making love to your text books all night, try starting with three easy steps IN ADVANCE…

Be Active! – Reading and studying are typically a passive activities and bore the brain straight to sleep. To get excellent results, you’ve got to be ACTIVE as a learner. This means physically and mentally. Don’t just sit there like a slug – get your butt moving! That’s right – even when you’re studying! Before you start – and during a few breaks – do some Brain Gym exercises to get the body in the right state. A couch potato is doomed to a life of mediocrity and failure because the brain just can’t fully engage without some cooperation from the body.

1. Be Questioning! – Can you get an answer to a question never asked? Not in this lifetime. Asking the right questions sets the mind on a search to find the right answers. The mind is like a heat-seeking missile. If it knows its target, it will go straight to it and – bullseye! If not, it can’t possibly fulfill on the mission. You might start with some general questions like this: “What in this material do I need to know that will help me fulfill on the assignment?” or “How much of this material is relevant to my paper and do I need to find another source?” The brain has a way of knowing things and if you ask it the right questions, it’s like rubbing the magic lamp. If not, it’s like having an employee – your BEST employee – sitting around, picking his nose.
2. Be Purposeful! – Think about purpose (why the heck am I doing this in the first place?!) as a final destination. Programming your brain’s internal GPS system is the same thing as telling it where you want to go. If there is no final destination then the brain goes on vacation – at least every five minutes! Setting a purpose might be a simple as “My goal is to absorb what I need to know to pass tomorrow’s test,” or… “to be comfortable enough with the material to participate in discussion.” Take a few minutes to lock in the coordinates and check out the results!

These things may sound a little strange to you now, but these small ways of ‘getting ready’ will reap big benefits. Pretty soon, your brain will be working hard, so you don’t have to!

Smiles,
Millicent

PS. To find out more about BRAIN GYM…

• http://esl.about.com/od/englishlessonplans/a/braingym.htm
• Visit BrainGym.org
• or search YouTube for BrainGym.