PHENIX CITY, Ala. (WRBL) — In the inaugural run of the ELITE Academy, class participants learned firsthand from local leaders. The free program was a collaboration between Troy University, Columbus Technical College, Chattahoochee Valley Community College and Macon-Russell Community Action Agency.
Graduates of the five-session program, which lasted from April through this month, were celebrated in a ceremony at Troy University’s Phenix City campus on July 22.
“This program is designed to develop leaders who want to understand, or learn more about, the role of government and how their individual contributions can advance the improvement of their neighborhoods and communities,” said Troy University Vice Chancellor Dr. Dionne Rosser-Mims.
She explained individuals who make up communities are leaders in their own right, even if they don’t view themselves that way.
The course was free and open to anyone who wanted to register, regardless of their student status at any of the school organizers. Rosser-Mims elaborated this was to make the program available to lower-income students.
For those who registered, the expectation was that they would attend each of the five sessions, said Rosser-Mims.
Session topics included communication skills for leaders, conflict resolution, civic engagement and community development, government structure and political process, community economics and more.
Troy University’s New Student Support Specialist Wanda Etienne, who lives in Columbus but works in at the school’s Phenix City campus, decided to sign herself up for ELITE's inaugural run.
“When they started talking about what the program was going to be about, which was to learn about the workings of Phenix City, I thought to myself, ‘This would be a good idea because I share a space with the people who live here,’” said 69-year-old Etienne, who added she convinced some of her students to join the class with her.
The recently-graduated ELITE participant called the class an enlightening experience.
Etienne said, “Being my age, I thought, ‘Okay, they’re just gonna talk at me and I’m gonna listen.’ … but it turned out not to be that way. I was just as engaged as anybody else.”
According to Etienne, group projects were a fun part of the class because participants got to act as “a microcosm of the city.”
One thing Etienne hopes to see in the program's future is a round-robin forum discussion where citizens can ask questions to their local leaders. She liked how participants interacted with officials, like Eugenia Upshaw of the Russell County Board of Education, during the course but felt like a formal question-and-answer session would be valuable.
Going forward, Rosser-Mims said she hopes to get more representation from Muscogee County participants in the program.
“We will continue to reach out to the broader community to really encourage folks to think about and view themselves as leaders,” said Rosser-Mims. “And then to make the connection that in order to grow as leaders, leadership training may be required and we’ve got an opportunity for them.”
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