Topeka, Kan. – The eleventh annual Washburn University Leadership Challenge EventTM (LCETM) will take place February 25 -26 at the Maner Conference Center in Topeka. The Washburn University Leadership Institute hosts this annual two-day leadership competition, which is open to high school and college students in the region. The LCE is the only event of its kind in the U.S., offering students a space to practice the leadership skills they will need when navigating challenges in the real world. The Leadership Institute saw COVID-19 as a leadership training opportunity themselves, figuring out to host an in-person event that was still very meaningful while maintaining everyone’s safety.
“Planning an interactive event like this in a global pandemic has certainly been a challenge” said Dr. Lauren Edelman, director of the Washburn University Leadership Institute. “It has also forced us to get creative and adapt. We are just thrilled to be able to offer the program at all. While it will certainly look and feel different, we are confident that the experience will be just as transformational and effective for participants as it has been in past years.”
To ensure the safety of all participants and volunteers, this year’s program will be significantly smaller, with only 13 college and high school teams and approximately 100 volunteers participating in the two-day leadership competition. Last year’s event featured 44 teams and more than 200 volunteers. The smaller number of participants allows for social distancing between all teams and volunteers, and keeps gathering sizes to no more than 100 people in a space at a given time. The Leadership Institute is working with Shawnee County to ensure the safety guidelines in place will afford a safe experience for all involved.
Interactions with teams will look different in many ways as well, including how teams engage with the Thursday leadership orientation. Instead of gathering as a group on Washburn University’s campus, participants were mailed a package in early February with all the orientation materials they would need to complete the sessions. Each team will work through the orientation content on their own time, having all sessions complete in time for the simulation competition on Feb. 26. The simulation will utilize technology more than ever before, allowing students from competing teams to connect via online meetings rather than gathering in-person.
The leadership simulation will start at 8:00 a.m. Friday, Feb. 26 at the Maner Conference Center. Students will participate in planning and strategy meetings, written tasks and individual and team leadership decisions. During this time, they will interact with volunteers role-playing as community stakeholders invested in the crisis the students are tasked with solving. The simulation encompasses three rounds, all observed by judges who score participants’ leadership acumen on a variety of metrics, including a group presentation defending all their decisions at the conclusion of the exercises. The event concludes with an awards ceremony beginning at 3:30 p.m. in Heritage Hall.
Despite the changes to this year’s event, Leadership Institute students have raised more than $39,000 in sponsorships, including co-title sponsorships from the Capitol Federal Foundation® and Evergy.
Kendall Beemer, this year’s LCE student fellow, said “We are so grateful for the way the community has supported this event in the midst of a pandemic. The support of sponsors, volunteers, and participating teams through all of the challenges we have encountered this year is the reason we are able to offer this transformational program to students once again. Some aspects of the event will look different than they have in the past, and this will challenge students to be creative and use their leadership skills in new ways.”
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Editor’s Note:
College Participants:
Cottey College
Midland University
High School Participants:
Arkansas City High School
Fort Scott High School
Highland Park High School (2 teams)
Nehama Central High School
Salina South High School
Seaman High School
Silver Lake High School
Topeka High School
Topeka West High School
Washburn Rural High School
