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Category: Service-Learning and Civic Engagement

Mandela Washington Fellows’ reflections: Young African leaders driving change via education

Posted on August 28, 2023 by Staley School of Leadership

The Mandela Washington Fellowship is a flagship program of the U.S. department of state to support young African leaders. The program includes Entrepreneurship, and Public Administration tracks, the Staley School hosts a Civic Leadership Institute.

The Fellows come from diverse backgrounds and are doing incredible work to impact lives and transform their communities. In this series, former Fellow and now Staley School graduate research assistant, Chibuzor Azubuike, reflects on 2022 Fellows that share common work in education – a critical area of focus for Sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), over one-fifth of African children between the ages of 6 and 11 are not in school, while nearly 60% of youth between the ages of 15 and 17 are not enrolled. (Kaledzi 2022) It is this challenge that Sustainable Development Goal 4 addresses, which is quality education.

Educators as Fellows

In this vein, Jonathan Maka from Kinshasa, DRC has been teaching for seven years now, and he is currently working at the Academy of Science and Technology as an English teacher and coach. He spends time coaching and mentoring the youth in his community, especially those who are homeless or those whose families are unable to afford quality education. So far, he has motivated students who have dropped out of school to resume their education He is involved in an NGO named Silent Cry that supports orphans, girls especially, in coaching, and educational interventions focused on skill development including English language, sewing, arts, crafts, sports, and skill development to contribute to their future capacity for finding job opportunities.

Maka has been engaged throughout the Mandela Washington Fellowship experience, he stated, “The Mandela Washington Fellowship has influenced the way I approach my work in providing me with proper leadership skills and also in teaching me that I have to work on statistics and not only having a general view of the challenge that my community is facing.” Continue reading “Mandela Washington Fellows’ reflections: Young African leaders driving change via education “ →

Staley School Block Party welcomes all Wildcats

Posted on August 22, 2023 by Staley School of Leadership

students at out door tables and tents

All Wildcats are invited to the Staley School Block Party outside of the Leadership Studies Building from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 30. Free food (cold drinks, shaved ice, chips and salsa, fruit cups, ice pops and more), prize giveaways, handouts and more!

Why attend?

Get to know the Staley School
Discover new ways to meet people on campus
Sign up for programs
Find out how leadership development can benefit you
Get involved in the local community
Learn about our travel programs – Service Teams

Featured programs include:

Service Teams
‘Cats Connect
Wildcat Dialogues
University Honors Program
Office of Nationally Competitive Scholarships
Staley School Ambassadors
LEAD 212 Class Leaders
Food Security Scholars
HandsOn Kansas State
K-State Strengths
Nonprofit Leadership
Snyder Leadership Legacy Fellows

See who’s going on Facebook.

Mandela Fellows Graduation Ceremony open to public

Posted on July 21, 2023July 21, 2023 by Staley School of Leadership

Mandela Washington Fellows Graduation Ceremony

The Staley School of Leadership at Kansas State University invites the public to the Mandela Washington Fellowship Graduation Ceremony. Join us 4-6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 27, at the Leadership Studies building (1300 Mid-Campus Drive N. Manhattan, KS, 66506). Please RSVP here.

Guests will enjoy brief reflections of each Fellow’s work and their experiences during their six weeks at K-State and in Kansas. After the program, cocktails and heavy hors d’oeuvres will be served in the lobby, with time to mingle and connect one last time before they return home.

We encourage the community to attend to gain understanding of the impact of this program on both the Fellows and our surrounding communities, as well as what the relationships and partnerships the Fellows have made will continue to foster positive global impacts.

K-State and the Staley School are hosting 25 Mandela Washington Fellows for a Civic Leadership Institute. The Mandela Washington Fellowship is the flagship program of the U.S. Department of State’s Young African Leaders Initiative. Fellows come from more than 20 different Sub-Saharan African nations and were selected for the program because of their civic leadership work.

See who’s going on Facebook.

Furniture Amnesty Day to take place July 28

Posted on July 18, 2023July 27, 2023 by Staley School of Leadership

July 27 update: This event will end at 3 p.m. instead of 4 p.m. due to extreme heat predictions.

This year’s Furniture Amnesty Day will take place Friday, July 28, starting at 8 a.m. in City Park. Furniture Amnesty Day is a community event that gives people the opportunity to donate or pick up used furniture at no cost.

Anyone can participate. There are no income requirements or forms to fill out to select donated items. Registration for furniture shopping begins at City Park starting at 8 a.m. on the day of the event.

Free shopping will be scheduled in 15-minute timeslots from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Participants can return to the park at their scheduled time and take home up to five furniture items at no cost. Items in a set, such as a table and chairs, will only count as one item. No additional paperwork is needed. Furniture will continue to be gathered and dropped off throughout the day, so there will always be a fresh selection of goods. Please note, shoppers need to be able to haul away the furniture they select. Delivery service is not available.

Acceptable donations include:

Sofas/couches
Desks
End tables
Recliners
Kitchen tables
Coffee tables
Dressers
Headboards
Entertainment centers

Donations that will not be accepted include:

Dishwashers
Pianos
Grills
Washers/dryers
Televisions/monitors
Mattresses
Refrigerators
Computers
Lamps

Volunteers are available to pick up furniture donations at the curb for anyone in the Manhattan city limits. This year, volunteers will only pick up a maximum of five furniture items per location. Please note, furniture sets such as a table and chairs will still only count as one item. To register for pickup service, please sign up online at cityofmhk.com/furniture or call the city manager’s office at 785-587-2404 during regular business hours. The deadline to register for pickup service is 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 26. Please note, all items for donation pick up need to be at the curb by 7 a.m. Friday, June 28. Volunteers will not enter homes to pick up donated furniture.

Donations can also be dropped off at Miller Field in City Park from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, July 28.

Any furniture left unclaimed at 3 p.m. will be open to the general public without registration. At 3:30 p.m., the event will end. Any remaining pieces will be hauled away by staff and volunteers.

If weather conditions prevent the event from taking place on July 28, it will be canceled.

Volunteers needed
It takes lots of help to make Furniture Amnesty Day happen. HandsOn Kansas State is organizing the volunteer effort again this year. Anyone interested in helping out can sign up online here. Volunteers can choose which three-hour shift works best with their schedule. Drinks and snacks will be provided.

Manhattan’s annual Furniture Amnesty Day is hosted by the city of Manhattan, Staley School of Leadership, HandsOn Kansas State and Konza United Way. For more information, visit cityofMHK.com/furniture.

Community professionals invited to network with global scholars

Posted on June 27, 2023July 21, 2023 by Staley School of Leadership

The Staley School of Leadership at Kansas State University invites community professionals to the Mandela Washington Fellowship Manhattan Community Networking Event. Join the Fellows 4-5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 29, at the Leadership Studies building (1300 Mid-Campus Drive N. Manhattan, KS, 66506). Please RSVP here. Continue reading “Community professionals invited to network with global scholars” →

Staley School kicks off Leading Change Institute in Ghana

Posted on June 13, 2023June 13, 2023 by Staley School of Leadership

The Staley School of Leadership launched the Leading Change Institutes (LCI) in 2015 to harness creative, collaborative thinking from globally recognized leaders addressing real issues with tangible strategies for moving forward.

In this series, practitioners who will participate in the upcoming Leading Change Institute will highlight practices and perspective of leadership in their communities. Each contributor is also an alumnus of the 2022 Mandela Washington Fellowship at Kansas State University.

These practitioners kicked off a Leading Change Institute on Advancing Perspectives of Leadership Movements and Strengthening Democratic Practices in Sub-Saharan Africa in March (View photos on our Facebook page). 

This LCI will be a series of events repeated regionally throughout Sub-Saharan Africa through 2027.

For decades leadership has been studied in the U.S. through a centrally western lens. This work has led to deep insights about strengthening practices of leadership that reflect democratic ways of knowing, being, and practicing leadership at individual, collective, and systemic levels. Leadership scholars understand less about how practices of leadership emerge globally and specifically in the Sub-Saharan Africa context. Continue reading “Staley School kicks off Leading Change Institute in Ghana “ →

Nonprofit leadership students engage community, supported by Hershey Heartwarming Young Heroes Grants

Posted on June 13, 2023 by Staley School of Leadership

During the spring 2023 semester, students in Kansas State University’s LEAD 499: Advanced Nonprofit Leadership class created and completed a series of grant-funded projects that developed their leadership skills, taught them about the value of creating positive change in their community, and engaged Manhattan, Kansas, residents of all ages.

In the Nonprofit Leadership undergraduate certificate, an academic offering from the Staley School of Leadership, students study all aspects of exercising leadership in nonprofit organizations, often through experiential projects and service learning. This includes learning about designing an effective organization, engaging volunteers, setting mission and vision, funding ideas, and much more.

Funding from grants is essential to many nonprofit organizations – usually foundations or governments. As such, many nonprofits want to hire employees skilled in grant-writing. Through this project, students engaged in the real-life grant process. Rather than solely studying it in the classroom, learning happened through doing and through service.

Students in LEAD 499 applied for and received four grants from the Hershey Heartwarming Young Heroes Grants, which are administered through Youth Service America (YSA). The purpose of this grant program is to “build meaningful connections and create more inclusive, empathetic, and kind communities.” the heart warming project

They divided the class into four groups, each with a project centered around Global Youth Service Day. Through these projects, they engaged a large and diverse array of community partners in Manhattan — from elementary schools to assisted living facilities.

The combination of the students’ hard work and the support of Hershey’s and YSA enabled the LEAD 499 class to bring funds into the community to spread kindness, understanding, and empathy through their group projects.

Tamara Bauer, instructor for LEAD 499, was excited for the creative ideas each group came up with to meet the purpose of the grant. Not only did students engage in intentional service, they collaborated to improve their grant writing skills.

Students submitted the following descriptions of each of the projects this semester: Continue reading “Nonprofit leadership students engage community, supported by Hershey Heartwarming Young Heroes Grants” →

Examining Service-Learning Today: Active listening in global partnerships

Posted on May 5, 2023June 6, 2023 by Staley School of Leadership

As educators and program coordinators plan for global collaborations in a post-pandemic world, we have an opportunity to reimagine partnerships with reciprocity at the forefront. Active listening is very important when collaborating with community partners.

In this blog, Kait Long, director of student engagement at the Staley School of Leadership, illustrates the importance of listening to and collaborating with community partners in global leadership and service work.

Examining Service-Learning Today: Active Listening in Global Partnerships

As our world began reopening post-pandemic last year, our staff at the Staley School of Leadership and colleagues around the world began asking critical questions of what it means to be in global partnership. That is, after strictly virtual engagement for two years, and no in-person exchange or learning, how to intentionally re-launch our work together? After so much change, how do we continue collaborating in meaningful ways? As Mac Benavides detailed in his recent blog post, a partnership inventory is a critical first step in partnering with intentionality, and with the goal of reciprocity. Continue reading “Examining Service-Learning Today: Active listening in global partnerships” →

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Category: Service-Learning and Civic Engagement

Mandela Washington Fellows’ reflections: Young African leaders driving change via education

Staley School Block Party welcomes all Wildcats

Mandela Fellows Graduation Ceremony open to public

Furniture Amnesty Day to take place July 28

Community professionals invited to network with global scholars

Staley School kicks off Leading Change Institute in Ghana

Nonprofit leadership students engage community, supported by Hershey Heartwarming Young Heroes Grants

Examining Service-Learning Today: Active listening in global partnerships

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