Leadership team members from Wayne State College’s Newman Center, from left, Heidi Nollette, Sophie Dubas and Neil Risinger, work on a Power Point presentation for the Campus Ministry Leadership Institute they attended in Indiana.
Newman Center leadership team gains new insights Wayne State students attend ministry training By LISA MAXSON Catholic Voice
The student leadership team at Wayne State College's Newman Center is working to make this year productive and successful for Catholic students at the college.
After spending six days at a Campus Ministry Leadership Institute in Indiana this summer, the team says it's focused and ready to welcome new students to the Wayne State campus.
"It was really great just getting to know the people on my leadership team better," said freshman Heidi Nollette of Nenzel. "We had to identify our strengths and weaknesses and share them before beginning our project, which was good because we knew how to better approach each other or discuss things in a way that the other people could relate to what was said."
Nollette, along with Sophie Dubas of Kearney and Neil Risinger of Plainview, accompanied campus minister Sister Cynthia Hruby, ND, to the June conference at Notre Dame University in South Bend, Ind. There they learned how to work better as a team based on their different personalities and skills.
Groups were trained in Whole Brain leadership, which teaches people in four key areas - "why" (the vision), "what" (the outcome), "how" (the tasks and details) and "who" (relationships).
"Personalities will feel very comfortable in one of these four spaces," Sister Hruby said.
It's just like in a house, she said. All rooms are used, but there's always a favorite room. When a person is on a team, there's a certain place that person likes to be.
"If I have a lot of students around me who are all relational and 'who' people, they come to something and all they see is the 'who.' They don't care what they're doing. They don't care why they're there. They're just relational," Sister Hruby said. "The nice thing about these three leaders is that they go to all four rooms and that's why they get things done."
Developing leaders
The Campus Ministry Leadership Institute is designed to produce dynamic campus ministry leaders who work collaboratively to improve the quality of Catholic campus ministry programs and activities. It's based on group formation as well as the six aspects of the U.S. bishops' 1985 document on pastoral ministry titled, "Empowered by the Spirit."
Students arrived at the institute with a project in mind to work on. For the Wayne State students, it was "Putting the Right Foot Forward," which aimed at welcoming students.
Sister Hruby said about 900 of Wayne State's 3,400 students are Catholic.
Statistics show that first-year students find their niche within the first three weeks of life on campus, she said, which means that Sister Hruby and her leadership team have two weeks to inform and engage new students. She said about 30-40 students attend the Catholic Newman Center's start-up activities, which include an on-campus Organization Information Fair, a parish welcome Mass and two Newman Nites. Participation drops to 15-20 within six weeks, Sister Hruby said.
"We need to have more Catholic students know about and feel welcome to any or all activities," she said. "We want to design a more cohesive Welcome Week program by preparing the Catholic Newman Center Council members for each event and to enhance the faith community by being more present and engaging with students during the first two weeks in the hope they will continue participation in their Catholic faith."
Sister Hruby attended the first two CMLIs in 1998 and 1999 when she was campus minister at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Mo. With a grant from the Omaha Archdiocesan Education Fund, donations and money from fundraisers, she was able to take three students with her this year.
Dubas had heard about Whole Brain leadership before this year's conference, but said she learned to look deeper at her leadership qualities at the institute.
"I became very aware of my weaknesses and pushed myself into new situations," she said.
As part of a team, Dubas said she brings organizational skills. The conference helped her step out of her comfort zone and work on her people skills, she said.
Nollette said knowing the group's leadership styles and personality types helped her team members become more efficient and helped them clarify their goal.
"All of us agreed that a personal touch is what is really missing from our campus ministry at Wayne so that's something we'll focus on," she said. "I'm sure none of us will forget this incredible week.
