The season for choosing next school year’s student leadership positions is in full swing, with the applications due Jan. 24, and the interview process commencing in February.
Students at California Baptist University had the opportunity to apply for various leadership positions on campus. The positions of Resident Adviser, FOCUS leader, Office of Community Life Intern, International Center Intern, Office of Spiritual Life Intern and Admissions Host accepted applications for the 2014-2015 school year.
Each leadership program has specific things it is looking for in a leader. However, all the programs are looking for those who are willing to serve.
“The most important aspects of being a student leader are your willingness to serve and your work ethic,” said Mariah Rickard, sophomore graphic design major and Office of Community Life intern. “Sometimes the jobs aren’t always glamorous, like picking trash off bleachers or guarding a door, but the fact is you’re serving, and that’s what’s important.”
Every student leadership program at CBU is a ministry, aiming to serve the student body in a way that glorifies God. In order to find students who are equipped to serve and lead, there must be an application and interview process all students who wish to be a student leader go through.
Students must submit a general student leadership application, two reference forms and a supplemental application that is specific to each leadership position. All applications and reference forms were due Jan. 24, with interviews scheduled to follow. The application process for each leadership position is fairly similar, but the interview process tailors to each individual position.
For FOCUS, potential leaders must sign up for a group interview in order for the FOCUS staff to see how the students work with others. On the application, students can choose to become a transfer FOCUS leader or freshmen FOCUS leader, which will determine which interview they go through.
Kelli Welzel, FOCUS director, said the interview process reflects everything the students will be doing next year for FOCUS.
“There’s an interview portion where (students) answer some general questions and then there’s also a portion where (students) share (their) testimony with me,” Welzel said.
Welzel also said students are required to share their testimony in the interview process because they will have to share their testimony as a leader and to their FOCUS group. The remainder of the interview consists of a creative activity, a partner lesson plan and a group activity.
The FOCUS staff is seeking to find students who, first and foremost, have a relationship with Jesus Christ and who are diverse.
“We look for people who reflect the diversity of our incoming students,” Welzel said. “There is no ideal look or personality.”
A student with a heart for service and a love for Christ are the primary expectations for all student-leadership organizations at CBU.
Students will receive an email Feb. 28 notifying them if they were chosen for their positions.
