Inside the global headquarters of Whole Foods in Austin, students in TCU’s Neeley Leadership Program spent their annual retreat learning lessons on leadership from industry executives and each other.
The Neeley Leadership Program (NLP) brings together business students for hands-on leadership development with top companies. Past retreats have been hosted by Goldman Sachs and Endeavor Real Estate. This year, Whole Foods welcomed NLP students for a mix of formal workshops and informal networking opportunities with executives from Rubrik Cybersecurity, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Endeavor Real Estate and Whole Foods.
“This retreat allowed us to cohesively and holistically expand our leadership skills,” Ashlyn Hunter, a senior entrepreneurship and innovation major and vice president of marketing for the NLP cabinet, said.
Entering a new environment created more opportunities and relationships, making this retreat stand out from past years, Hunter said.
Students strengthened their professional and personal soft skills through cross-cohort bonding and exercises tied to their developmental leadership stages.
One exercise, the WEB activity, encouraged students to connect on a deeper level.
“It showed me that the strongest teams come from real trust, and that’s something I’ll carry forward in how I lead and support others,” Lucas Gallegos, a junior finance and accounting major, said.
Throughout all their workshops, the openness and depth the executives brought to the conversations surprised Gallegos the most.
“They were approachable and genuinely interested in sharing, but also incredibly knowledgeable,” he said.
Lauren Nguyen, a sophomore management and consultative sales major, said versatility became her biggest takeaway from the retreat.
Nguyen found inspiration in Jenny Whittemore, the chief operating officer at Endeavor Real Estate.
“Before this retreat, I was very anti-tech and openly admitted that I hated numbers and data,” Nguyen said.
Whittemore shared her experiences embracing a large range of opportunities with technology, artificial intelligence and sales rather than limiting herself to one area.
“I now aspire to follow a similar path by broadening my background and pushing myself to gain knowledge in areas I once shied away from,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen said she grew closer to her cohort than she expected. She said that collaborating with people from various organizations and backgrounds made her realize how much she valued being in an environment filled with optimistic, supportive people who challenged her to grow as a leader.
“Logistically, this was a seamless retreat,” said Hunter.
Finishing off the retreat, the cohort roasted s’mores around the fire.
