Developing first-year university student leadership: Leadership development in a short term service-learning program

The author examines the impact of participation in a service-learning program involving two small groups of freshmen at Saginaw Valley State University, a mid-sized public university in Michigan, on leadership activities in years following this first year experience. Based on a review of student reflection papers and a survey conducted after the program concluded, the author explores whether the service learning program influenced how students conceptualized leadership and leadership activities. Even though leadership development was not explicitly part of the program, students indicated that the program did enhance their ability to serve as leaders in other areas. While the number of students participating in the program described is relatively small (N=45), the results indicate that this short, intense service-learning program did shape students’ conceptualizations of leadership as well as how they participated as leaders in other areas