In the comfort of a local coffee shop a few weeks ago, I read a study by the National Clearinghouse for Leadership Programs—a little light reading recommended by a mentor. It’s called: Developing Leadership Capacity in College Students by John Dugan and Susan Komives, and after working through it, I discovered some really interesting points, one in particular. After a study with colleges throughout the U.S., Dugan and Komives found the following: “Engaging in conversations across difference [is] the single-strongest environmental predictor of leadership outcomes.” In short, students who have the opportunity to challenge their comfort zone develop their leadership potential. Gustavus holds leadership in high esteem, and I am thankful to say that my boundaries have been pushed in ways I never thought they could go.
I am a part of a weekly discussion group called Breaking Barriers. Its sole purpose is to discuss systems of privilege that create advantages for certain people where others miss out. I happen to be a person granted enormous privilege by my sex, my skin color, and my wealth, so we get into a lot of discussion that can be uncomfortable, which isn’t always easy. In a space established to challenge opinions and conventions in daily life, tensions can rise quickly, but the growth that I experience is incredible. For example, as a white person with some Swedish heritage, at any time of day I can find a room on campus full of people who look like me. These are places I can feel safe and comfortable. That is something I take for granted, until I am challenged to think about how many people on campus do not have the same privilege.
And that’s not the only time I have been challenged to think outside of my box. A class on Buddhist Philosophy has sent my mind spinning and challenged me to think differently about my attachment and connection to all things. Another class has left me feeling heavy after learning to rethink the systemic causes of homelessness and welfare recipients. Friends have shared troubling secrets, I have been asked to share some of my own, and people have urged me to the point of madness to think more deeply about how I can work toward a better future. And those are just things on campus! I haven’t even started to talk about my semester abroad!
One of the many beauties of the liberal arts is that we are encouraged to think beyond our own self-interest. Beyond our academic silos, our immediate circle of friends, and outside our comfort zones, we encounter the realities of others that aren’t always convenient, but call on us to be compassionate and understand the affects of our own interests on the lives of others. It’s not to suggest that we disregard our own interests, but from behind our own two eyes, we can acknowledge the needs of others and that awareness will shape our reality. Diversity is not an official core value of Gustavus, and maybe it should be. It’s all around us. We all contribute to diversity, and when we allow the diverse ideas of other people to stretch us and challenge us, we widen our comfort zone and shape our ability to lead the way to a better, more inclusive, future.