The No. 1 reason for job derailment is the lack of leadership skills, says the Center for Community Engagement, Leadership and Learning’s web site.
The people working in the Division of Student Affairs have recognized that this statistic should no longer apply to ETSU students and are now trying to do something to solve this problem, said Dr. Debbie Harley, formerly White, the assistant vice president of the CELL.
ETSU Division of Student Affairs will be offering a chance for students to gain useful leadership skills coming this fall.
The CELL is just one of the offices that will be affected by the new Student Affairs Leadership Initiative for Work Study Students, Harley said. The initiative will provide training in leadership to students working for work study in the Division of Student Affairs. “We tried to target other ways students came together, and they come together as student workers,” Harley said. “The Division of Student Affairs including the CELL, SORC, Campus Recreation and many more, made a decision this semester that we were going to invest in our student workers, and just like companies we would give opportunities for leadership training on company time.”
The initiative will serve all the student workers in the Division of Student Affairs, about 300 students, Harley said. These students are required to obtain eight hours of training in areas such as the 7 Habits for Highly Effective People and e-portfolio training.
Student workers in the CELL office will be required to take 7 Habits for Highly Effective People their first year as employees, and they will receive supplementary training every year after that, Harley says. For instance, if a student worker in the CELL retains his or her job until the next year, they will take another, possibly more advanced, training to further their skills. The departments will evaluate at the end of each semester to determine the student’s feelings about how they spent their time, Harley said.
Harley has many goals for this program including an increased appreciation of leadership studies, different departments creating similar programs and an increased competitive edge for the students participating. “We are investing,” she said. “It’s the right thing to do.”
Workers in other divisions that have heard about the change are somewhat skeptical.
“If I was given the chance to take free leadership training through my work, I definitely would, “said Nicole Holder, a junior APS worker in the math lab, “but I don’t think many of the other students would be that interested.”
The workers affected by this change, however, do not think the investment will be bad thing.
“I think it’s a great idea,” said freshman Daniel Thacker, who works in the CELL as a Federal Work Study student. “Anything with the word ‘leadership’ in it is a good idea.

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