CHESTER, Pa. – The Widener University Department of Athletics announced the Class of 2023 for the Widener Athletic Leadership Initiative (WALI). The class consist of 21 student-athletes from 12 sports, who join the 16 existing members.
WALI was founded in 2020 under the principle that collegiate athletics is a hotbed for aspiring leaders. We believe the student-athlete experience has the power to create influential and prestigious leaders who will implement tangible management skills in their respective communities, careers, and personal lives.
The curriculum is centered on helping our student-athletes hone their leadership skills as teammates and team leaders during their collegiate careers for the Pride. Student-athletes advance through the program in class-affiliated levels with foundational programming for each level being delivered through interactive sessions that maximize our student-athletes engagement and personal discovery.
WALI's goals are to:
- Increase our student athlete's personal understanding of their leadership style.
- Create positive environments to develop leadership skills.
- Create a personal leadership philosophy and practical tools they can bring back to their respective sport programs, communities, and careers.
- Interact and connect with current campus leadership and Widener University Alumni who have real world leadership experience.
WALI will assist students in the following areas:
- Increased content knowledge within the area of leadership development.
- Exposure to leadership development training to enhance personal leadership skills.
- Structured reflection opportunities for student-athletes to assess their leadership ideas and experiences with peers.
- Provide experiences outside of the Widener University community to enhance leadership learning and adaptation.
- Structured opportunities, both verbal and written, for student-athletes to assess their own leadership experiences and to determine what leadership means to them on a personal level.
- Construct leadership development experiences that can be shared within a community of students who can teach and learn from one another while gaining greater appreciation of diverse perspectives and approaches to leadership.
