The fireplace in the lobby became a gathering place for students and staff relieved to have survived their journey to the UY. We held our first “Warm Up Wednesday,” where students and staff gathered in the afternoon to drink hot chocolate and wonder why we choose to live in this state. Soon staff began to regularly bring their laptops down to sit by the fire together and work side by side, chatting with the students coming in and out.
As the winter wore on, conversations soon shifted from the weather to equally pressing topics for today’s young adults. Conversations about the children the college students are mentoring in schools surrounding campus. Discussions of the crime alerts on campus and whether or not race should be included in the descriptions. A brainstorm session about which Guinness Book of World Records record we could break at the UY.
Sometimes I joined the students and staff by the fire; other times I overheard them from my nearby office. Once or twice I wheeled out on my office chair to chime in, then scooted back to my desk. All winter, I found myself grateful for the conversations sparked by our simple gas fireplace.
As the new Executive Director of the University YMCA, my first winter on campus has me reflecting on the topic of leadership. Leadership is about bringing people together around the fireplace. It is about building relationships, stimulating conversations, and developing a collective vision or purpose. It is about creating the opportunity for someone’s voice to emerge.
This blog has been created to bring people together around a key aspect of the University Y—leadership. We intend to invite students, staff, alumni, and partners to submit posts that will hopefully generate an ongoing conversation on leadership. Bloggers will be asked to reflect on an experience that informs how they think about leadership, in 500 words or less. This could be an experience through the UY, or outside of the UY, with reflective leadership as the common thread. We hope you will consider participating by reading, commenting, and even possibly writing as a guest blogger.
On the Thursday before Spring Break, the temperature rose above 50 degrees. With it came packs of students walking by in shorts, music blasting from our neighboring fraternities, and the look of joy on the faces of people who believe the worst of the winter might just be behind them. The sudden energy of spring on campus reminded me of something else that is critical for leaders. Hope. So it is with great hope that we launch this blog and invite you to join our UY community in a conversation on leadership.
Jenny Wright Collins
Executive Director
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