The 2013-2014 President’s Leadership Class at OJC.
LA JUNTA – Nineteen new members have been named to the 2013-2014 President’s Leadership Program (PLP) at Otero Junior College. The students were selected by a committee of OJC staff, Foundation board members and PLP members. Four additional students returned from last year’s PLP class as sophomores. Now in its second year, the PLP was developed in cooperation with the OJC Foundation with a mission of developing and training OJC students to become emerging leaders.
Under the direction of Samme Ormiston, business faculty member at OJC, the leadership program is focused on academics, service and experiential learning. According to Ormiston, students accepted into the program can earn an academic Certificate in Leadership and have those credits transfer to four-year colleges where they can continue to pursue leadership studies.
“We currently have articulation agreements with Colorado State University-Pueblo and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs that will allow our PLP scholars the opportunity to seamlessly transfer into those programs after leaving OJC,” said Ormiston.
The Certificate in Leadership Studies requires 12-credit hours of study that includes two 3-credit hour core leadership courses and additional elective courses from a wide-variety of academic programs on campus.
A focus of the President’s Leadership Program is to promote leadership through service to the surrounding communities. Students complete a minimum of 30 hours of service learning experiences each semester. The program is centered on experiential learning activities. PLP scholars will be given ample opportunities to learn about leadership through numerous hands-on experiences, leadership conferences and internships.
The Otero Junior College Foundation has committed to providing 20 annual scholarships in the amount of $1,000 to each selected scholar. Scholars must maintain a 3.2 GPA to stay in the program.
The following students are members of the 2013-14 PLP class (* indicates students in the program for a second year.): ChiAnn Wisemon*, Cheraw; Landon “LT” Esarey, Cheyenne Wells; John-Marc Cloer, Colorado Springs; Joanna Diaz, Crowley; Mikayla Irvin, Denver; Autumn Shields*, Fowler; Kendra Taylor*, Fowler; Camille Kovach*, Fruita; Elizabeth Manfredi, Hoehne; Kayla Hannel, Holly; Maegan Yoder, La Junta; Craig England, Ordway; Bailey Rae Pfeiff, Ordway; Kayla Dawson, Swink; Nika Wang, Tucson, Ariz.; Kathryn Lovejoy, Freemont, Calif.; Taylor Whitehead, Sparks, Nev.; Blake Stoehr, Houston, Texas; Danny McQuaid, Longview, Texas; Suman Karmokar, India; Yesi Mariska Indira, Indonesia; Syeda Arooj, Pakistan; Natalya Sharovatova, Uzbekistan.
For information about the program contact Samme Ormiston, at 719-384-6850 or Samme.Ormiston@ojc.edu. More information and an application for admission can be found on the OJC website at: http://www.ojc.edu/leadership.aspx
To become a supporter of the President’s Leadership Program, contact Teri Erickson, OJC Foundation director at 719-384-6962 or teri.erickson@ojc.edu