2008 Woodie Awards
Letter From the Editor
Shannon Morgan
Issue date: 8/20/08 Section: Opinion
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When I attended the 2007 Student Leader Summit, I was gripped with an intense desire to apply what I learned at The Arbiter, and see what kind of positive change would occur as a result.
I reflected on my frustration as a journalist in expressing an idea, only to have it shot down because I was not "the Editor-in-Chief." I loathed the top down management style and felt it suffocated imagination and crushed the confidence essential to creative people (or any people) in producing their best work.
The Leader Summit in particular gave me the tools and insight I needed in order to achieve my ambition of becoming Editor-in-Chief of The Arbiter, and change the landscape of how our media-outlet operates.
The Summit has three goals: help students gain a better understanding of themselves, of the organizations(s) their involved with and the campus community. I left the '07 Summit with a new outlook on the world and had some intense personal paradigm shifts which lit the fire in my belly to accomplish all I did over the last 12 months. I made vital connections with other student leaders that inspired me to put our media-outlet in a position to truly cover what these amazing students are doing to better our campus, community and world.
When I took over as EIC, I changed the job title of Assistant to Coordinator. Some people laughed and thought it was silly. It took no time for our staff to observe how a small change in thinking transformed our office. They now share my belief that a person does not assist but coordinates in a way that best serves the needs of the organization and each other. These are things I learned at Summit by observing how 12 students who don't know each other can come together to become a cohesive, collaborative unit, committed to serving and supporting each other in our journey to unleash the leader we are capable of being. I'm very grateful to have had the opportunity to attend Leader Summit over the last two years. It's been brought to my attention the university is currently evaluating whether or not to continue the Summit. I'm writing this as a letter of support and encourage any of you who see the tremendous value Summit offers students to do the same.
All my best,
Shannon Morgan
Editor-in-Chief
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