The Center for Student Involvement took a group of student leaders to a Disney Leadership Retreat, a three-hour course at Disneyland offered by the Disney Imagination Campus. The retreat was part of our Leadership development series that focused on leadership, enrichment, advocacy, and personal development.
36 students attended the retreat and many continued to attend LEAD Series events through spring semester. A total of 224 students attended the 14 LEAD Series events. There were 91 unique attendees, meaning that about 60% of attendees have attended multiple events in the series.
Disney Leadership Retreat focused on three of the dimensions of wellness: social, intellectual, and occupational wellness.
After attending the Disney Leadership Retreat, students were able to identifiy their own leadership traits and core values, incorporate their leadership traits and core values into their goals. Students were also able to utilize different communication styles to create positive environments and build community. Lastly, students were able to apply an inclusive lens to their leadership styles.
The Disney Leadership Retreat offered multifaceted learning experiences, primarily focusing on leadership competencies, communication styles, and diversity and inclusion. Participants engaged in activities tied to Disney-themed leadership inventories, discussing strengths and qualities within these contexts and interacting with a Disney executive leader. An assessment showed high agreement among students regarding their ability to identify and integrate their leadership traits and core values into their goals.
Regarding communication styles, students learned various listening and communication approaches, leading to a strong consensus on their understanding and application of these skills to create positive work environments. Collaboration during the retreat fostered new friendships, strengthening teamwork and emphasizing the importance of clear and direct communication.
The retreat also emphasized diversity and inclusion, prompting students to recognize the importance of diverse leadership and representation, highlighted through a performance at the Fantasyland Theater. Participants showed a strong grasp of the significance of diversity in leadership, expressing their ability to apply an inclusive lens to their leadership styles. The viewing of "The Tale of the Lion King" prompted reflections on gender representation and the first all-black cast in a Disney production, further reinforcing lessons on diversity, inclusion, and leadership.
Our Disney Leadership Retreat was a successful program for our student leaders. As mentioned, students had to attend two or more LEAD Series workshops throughout the Fall semester to be invited to this retreat.
From the data gathered, we believe that our LEAD Series workshops and retreat were successful in developing student leaders. The Center for Student Involvement plans to continue these workshops that will further develop our students’ leadership, enrichment, advocacy, and personal development in the 2023-2024 academic year.