September 16, 2009 – Our Town – OWU

Seattle’s Pike Place Fish Market and OWU: Inspiring leadership models.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Ready…Set…Get Organized!
OWU’s GO program inspires planning and leadership

More than 100 OWU student organization leaders were set and ready to go at last Saturday’s “GO”—Get Organized OWU—program held in the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center. Educating new as well as the more seasoned leaders was the key purpose of “GO,” which began with a bagel and parfait breakfast, some thoughts from Ohio Wesleyan’s new Dean of Students, Kimberlie Goldsberry, and an update on OrgSync, the data-based software program used to help students stay organized in their planning efforts, and in touch with OWU staff. Then it was off to advanced, refresher, nuts and bolts, and Greek-related track programming for students.

As Nancy Bihl Rutkowski, assistant director of student involvement for leadership explains, those who attended the advanced sessions focused on the FISH! Philosophy—a business and leadership mindset emerging from the 1998 film based on Seattle’s Pike Place Fish Market, and its amazing success as a customer-oriented and inspirational workplace, and as Rutkowski explains, “an altogether great way of doing business.” The refresher track programs offered basic information for those who may have been away from organizational leadership for some time, while the “What’s the Game Plan” programming emphasized how to schedule and plan events.

“For Greeks, we offered sessions on “Utilizing Advisors,” and “Values Congruence,” a sort of ‘back to the basics’ of Greek life,” she says. The opportunity to brainstorm and think about ways to be more effective as leaders was of interest to all.

“I think programs like “GO” are extremely valuable to the OWU community,” says Alison Kennedy ’10. “It gives campus leaders a chance to reflect on the current condition of their organizations and forces them to think about the possible steps for improvement. Programs like this are becoming very common in the corporate world, so having this opportunity at the college undergraduate level offers OWU students an advantage as they get out into the “real world.”” Not to mention the importance of staying current from year to year with new information and procedures.

“It seems right that Ohio Wesleyan be the place that trains new leaders,” says Rutkowski.

– Pam Besel