R'LEAD Program Gives Students a Headstart

On January 11th, the School of Business Undergraduate Business Program held its inaugural R’LEAD initiative celebration. This celebration was the culmination of months of work by students, staff, and faculty.

R’LEAD is a new and innovative program within the School of Business that aims to develop a more involved and informed undergraduate business student who is prepared to enter the workforce. This is done by putting a point value on professional development.

Students obtain points through participation in a multitude of activities, on and off campus, offered through R’LEAD, ranging from professional workshops to working as a research assistant. No matter how the student obtains points, through R’LEAD the student will be more prepared to enter the hyper competitive workforce.

Accompanying students at the event were two of the creators of the R’LEAD program, Professor Kyle Ingram and Elizabeth Tisdale, Professional Academic Advisor. Additionally, the Director of the Undergraduate Business Program, Jennifer Osborne, came to show her support. 

Students in attendance were not only there to be commemorated for being part the first group of R’LEAD members, they were also there to collect the incentives they had earned.

Martin Eriksson, an international student from Sweden, had this to say about R’LEAD - “I think the R’LEAD program is a great incentive for students to go to more workshops and learn practical things like interview skills and how to build your resumé. In addition, job fairs and other networking events are also rewarded in terms of points, which I think is great!”

Luis Macedo, a current 4th year undergraduate business student said, “The R’LEAD program is one of the best programs on campus for business students, adding the fun idea of gamification to professional development. No matter what your concentration, there are plenty of events and tasks you can do in order to satisfy the point requirements for the program.”

By Luis Macedo