Master of Success starts at 3:30, Tuesday, December 11, 2007!

Synopsis
The Memorial Union's Masters of Success Advanced Leadership Program is here to prepare you for the real world of leadership and success. Would you like employers to call you for a job rather than having to interview?  Would you like to be able to tell whether or not your future employer will help you to be successful?  What's the difference between being a leader on campus versus the real world?  What type of leader/team member will you be?  The Masters of Success program is designed to teach participants how to chart their course for being a successful leader and employee as a recent college graduate.

In today’s fast paced global environment, graduates in every field compete, work, and struggle to find a way to be leaders; hoping to discover the secret to success. Companies are also finding new ways to outsmart their competition, build the next generation of products, and to find outstanding graduates from colleges nationwide who will help make this happen.

At North Dakota State University, we strive to help our students understand the true nature of the workforce both positive and negative.  We help our students understand what questions to ask an employer to determine a company’s viability, leadership structure, decision making ability, empowerment of its employees, and whether the company’s environment will help them to succeed or sabotage their success.

With most graduating students, there is often a fear that they will have to once again “start from the bottom”.  Students blindly navigate their way around power hungry supervisors, colleagues who try to undermine their success, or simply lacking the knowledge of how to be a competent and successful team player.  Of course, there may be positive exceptions to this norm.The Masters of Success program has been thoroughly and pragmatically designed to educate students on some of the following core competencies:

• Understanding how to decipher the “real” company profile and culture in an interview
• How to tell when an employment offer should be turned down and why
• Negotiating the first job offer; including asking for more money and benefits
• How to effectively ascertain the leadership ability of company leaders
• What factors ensure a successful first job experience
• How to develop credibility, impact, and success within the first 90 days of employment
• How to discover how team members function, relate, and encourage cooperation or competition
• How to become a leader in your first job even before the first day of work
• How to effectively create positive change as a new employee
• How to develop positive relationships with supervisors and colleagues
• Relational authenticity
• Reversing dysfunctional teams 
• Making the transition from college to career
• How to set yourself up for your next position
• How to forecast downsizing and become indispensable
• How to determine if a company is designed to set you up for success or failure
• and so much more!

Mission

We prepare students to be authentic, hardworking, and competent leaders.

Our Vision

The Masters of Success Program at NDSU strives to engage students in the ever-changing world of business and teaches them to develop innovative, real-world solutions to leadership and business challenges.

The program attracts NDSU's top students. Through rigorous curriculum and the latest research on leadership and success, students will learn a multitude of leadership and interpersonal skills that executives and employees struggle to attain in today’s corporate environment.

With hundreds of connections to alumni in business and industry through NDSU’s Alumni Center, the program strives to benefit both students and the corporate community. With access to exemplary instructors, intensive project skill development, simulations, and real-world business networks, our students develop the advanced knowledge they need to become the successful leaders of the future.

Participants

Each year a select group of students are nominated and may also apply to be a part of prestigious team of 8-10 students.  The number of students chosen for each program depends on the quality of the student and not a quota to fill 10 slots.  Students in the program come from all disciplines and fields of study. Students may begin applying for the program in the spring semester of their junior year for the fall semester program.

The program requires some light reading on leadership and management.  Students are asked to present materials and serve on a project committee which presents it's final projects at the end of the spring semester to a pre-selected business in Fargo. MOS students compete for a leadership prize package that includes a small scholarship.  Last year's MOS winner and "Student of the Year" was Jessica Neumann.

Timeline

The spring program runs from January to April with students meeting once a week for nine to twelve weeks.  The time and day of the program will depend on the schedules of the individuals selected for the program.  Students will meet each week for two hours.  There will be an opening ceremony, closing ceremony, and one weekend retreat in late March/early April.

Pedagogy and Methodology

The Masters of Success (MOS) Program uses the Student Based Learning Model along with current corporate leadership strategies to analyze what will help students truly succeed in various types of corporate environments.

Using methodologies such as brain based learning, reality based learning, and problem based learning, the MOS builds each of its workshops around the needs of the student and his or her peer team to create a one of kind learning experience.  Several inventories designed to capture the multiple facets of each individual are used to determine the type of experiences and workshop content each group of students undergo throughout this semester long program.

History

Founded in 2000, the Masters of Success advanced leadership program is the brainchild of a once failed student and Steve Winfrey, a leadership program advisor who vowed to never again hear the phrase, “What are you teaching your students about leadership?  It’s just not working”. 

The student was once a part of one of Steve’s basic level leadership programs. The student was very bright and well liked by students, faculty and administrators alike.  He was the type of student to be voted, “Most Likely to Succeed”.

After graduating, this same student experienced the harsh difference between the safe environment of a college setting and the hard core reality of today’s workforce.  After being fired from his $50,000 six month position, the student telephoned Steve and asked the dreaded and unforgettable question, “What are you teaching your students about leadership?”  The student was being fired from his first job.  What did he do wrong?  Why did he not see this coming?  Why did his intelligence, training and ability to make friends fail him right out of college?  These questions had to be answered.

After several minutes on the phone, the two decided to meet.  After four hours of intense conversation, the meeting was finally over and the pilot program for the next generation leadership program was born.

Today, the student has his master’s degree in agriculture and his happily working as a successful businessman and farmer in Minnesota.

Sponsors

The Masters of Success Program is primarily sponsored by the Memorial Union.

If you wish to be a mentor/job coach for the Masters of Success program, please contact the program director at (701) 231-9446 or steve.winfrey@ndsu.edu.

The Masters of Success Program and the Memorial Union at NDSU

The Masters of Success Advance Leadership Program is housed within NDSU’s Memorial Union where several other leadership, involvement, and campus programs are developed and implemented.  The Memorial Union has recently undergone a revision in goals for their leadership programs and is now proud to proclaim the development of ten other leadership programs including:

              LeaderQuest-entry level leadership program

              Gamma Chi Lambda-Greek leadership program

              Kujenga (to build in Swahili): winter diversity and leadership retreat

              Omega Project-civic engagement and service learning program

              Women’s Leadership Institute-program on leadership issues facing women

              Spring Leadership Retreat-weekend long leadership retreat for all levels

              Summer Leadership Institute- leadership program for incoming students

              TeamQuest- adventure based leadership programs for learning how to work in teams

              President’s Student Leadership Program-day long conference with high level speakers

              Social Justice Retreat- two day civic engagement conference

              Individual Leadership Coaching

Further questions will be answered by contacting Steve Winfrey at 231-9446 or steve.winfrey@ndsu.edu

Masters of Success Schedule

The schedule for the Masters of Success program is determined by the assessed needs of each class and individual in the program. All other information is classified and considered proprietary. For more information, please contact the program director at (701) 231-9446 or steve.winfrey@ndsu.edu.

Application Process

There are no formal application forms this year.  All questions will be asked during a formal interview.  Please bring your most updated resume when you come for the interview. Interviews begin November 29th-December 14, 2007.  Please call Mary Afsheim at 231-8241 to sign up for an interview with me for 1/2 hour.

The Master of Success program covers all materials, refreshments, lodging/meals for retreats, and all workshop activities.  Fees for the 2008 spring semester are covered in your student activity fee.  The Masters of Success Program would normally cost individuals hundreds of dollars post college.  The program is free.  Don't delay, set yourself up for success now!

The schedule for the Masters of Success program is determined by the assessed needs of each class and individual in the program. All other information is classified adn considered proprietary. For more information, please contact the program director at (701) 231-9446 or steve.winfrey@ndsu.edu.

Application Process:

    Applicants must meet the minimum criteria and complete the following in order to be considered for an interview:

• Completed application form by the due date - APPLICATION
• Completed one page nomination form by faculty, staff, student, or self (no additional references or letters of recommendation will be accepted)
• One page letter of why you are interested in MOS

Applicants will be contacted by e-mail once the above forms are received and informed of whether or not an interview will be offered.  If an interview is extended, applicants will be asked to sign up for an interview time by contacting the Administrative Secretary of the Student Activities Office at 231-7787.  Interviews are approximately one hour long.  All interviews will take place in the Director of the Memorial Union office located adjacent to the coffee cart.

 

All forms of interview formats will be implemented including problem based questions; experience based questioning, and yes/no answers.  Dress is formal.  All details of the interview will be documented to assist the staff with making the best selection for the final team.  It is suggested that you have your resume reviewed by the career center in order to present yourself in the best possible light. 

 

Applicant minimum qualification criteria:

• Junior or senior level status.  Priority will be given to seniors then to those doing junior level internships or who are working at potential future employment company.
• Possess a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative GPA or express reason why the GPA criteria should be waived.
• Professional resume, cover letter, and a high level of communication skill. 

 Fee:

A leadership training program like the Masters of Success normally costs $1000-$2000 per person per day.  NDSU students pay only a one time nominal fee of $40.  The fee covers all workshops, speakers, refreshments, one retreat (inc. transportation, food, and lodging), opening/closing ceremony, and all books and materials.

 

Expectations of admitted students:

    If chosen to be a part of MOS, all participants will strictly adhere to the following:

• Attend every designated workshop, one retreat and closing ceremony
• Complete all reading assignments (one reading assignment per workshop)
• Actively participate in all workshop sessions and simulations
• Have the ability to give and receive constructive feedback
• Meet with a designated job coach a minimum of four times
• Adhere to the highest ethical standards regarding work and ideas
• Conduct him/herself in a professional manner in and outside of the program
• Commit him/herself to the study and practice of authentic leadership