TCU students can enhance their leadership skills and knowledge through TCU Student Affairs’ Aspiring Leadership Program, beginning Oct. 6. 

The Aspiring Leadership Program (ALP) started in the fall of 2023. It is a seven-week program that aims to motivate students to pursue leadership and involvement opportunities. 

This program looks to maximize students time while providing them with a clear roadmap for future involvement in leadership on campus. 

“We understand how busy everyone gets and how many of the leadership opportunities around campus can be time-consuming,” Philip Dodd, the director of leadership and experiential learning, said. “We did not want ALP to be a long-term time commitment because there are so many of those opportunities already out there.”

By providing suggestions for students using ALP’s Leadership & Involvement Passport, the program’s main goal is to help students explore skills to be an effective leader. 

“We decided to keep ALP more intimate so participants had the space to share and the chance to get to know everyone else,” Dodd said. “We knew specific skills within leadership, like decision making, event planning, and interviewing, would be beneficial for almost all students.”

As this semester’s seven-week program is set to begin, ALP is looking to expand its program and opportunities with the addition of Leadership Lab, a dialogue based coaching program. 

“One point of growth is a new program we’re starting this semester called Leadership Lab. It has the same structure as ALP, but it is designed for students who already have different leadership experiences on campus,” Dodd said. “Leadership Lab takes what those advanced leaders have learned and puts them in the context of group learning.”

Jacque Balderas, a junior spanish for the professions major with a double minor in psychology and general business, is a part of the ALP class of fall 2024. Balderas still finds benefits from ALP today. 

“ALP taught me how to approach my classes and group projects with more confidence as a leader. I learned to listen actively, delegate effectively and support others’ ideas, which has made me a stronger teammate and student overall,” Balderas said. “It also encouraged me to be more intentional about using my time at TCU to grow not just academically, but also personally and professionally.”

ALP aims to push students to utilize skills learned not just during workshops, but in the classroom and beyond. 

“The mentorship, reflection activities, and friendships I gained made a lasting impact, and I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to challenge themselves and grow as both a leader and a person.” Balderas said.