LEV students attend Case Competition

Three North Central College students—Marie Butnariu ’16, Jon Kingzette ’15 and Lexy Schwarzwalder ’16—attended the National Collegiate Leadership Conference (NCLC) Case Competition at the University of Arizona Feb. 14-16. The students are Distinguished Leaders in North Central’s Leadership, Ethics & Values (LEV) program and were selected by application to attend.

The NCLC is a student-run annual conference that serves as the cornerstone of leadership experience and training for college students across the nation. Students learned about different aspects of leadership and gained skills that can be used in student organizations, families, campus, job settings and communities.

Students participated in a Case Student Competition that involved a poster presentation about the group Operation: Military Kids (OMK). Each team suggested ways the organization could help improve retention rates at colleges, especially for students with parents or other close members in the military.

North Central’s team of Distinguished Leaders suggested that OMK reach out to and ask colleges to set up mentoring programs for students with family in the military. The mentors would be high-achieving upper-class students and would guide younger students through the college transition process.
 
Butnariu, Kingzette and Schwarzwalder also attended various workshops, participated in service projects, and listened to keynote speakers discuss their personal leadership experiences.

North Central’s LEV program sponsored the students’ participation at the case study competition. The Distinguished Leaders program is for first-year students who demonstrate outstanding leadership potential and an interest in maximizing their leadership skills to improve the North Central College community. They begin participating their sophomore year. In return, students receive year-to-year financial aid incentives.