Gusties in Ongoing Leadership Development (G.O.L.D.) has been a fixture on the Gustavus campus for years, but new improvements in the past two years have completely revamped it.

The program features three levels: the bronze, silver and gold. The classes are free and any student can participate at any time. However, if a student chooses to pursue a certificate, some classes recommend prerequisites and the levels must be earned sequentially.

The requirement to obtain a certificate of a specific level is completion of the core three classes and three other classes in that level. After that, the student will participate in a leadership seminar where they will prepare and present a three to five minute summary of what they gained from the G.O.L.D. program; these occur every semester.

The levels are organized around a theme. Bronze entails life skills and exploration, silver centers around implementing leadership skills and the final level, gold, focuses on mastering personal leadership style.

The classes offered vary largely in content and purpose. Strengths Quest, which is based around figuring out your natural strengths as a leader, is part of the bronze level required classes. “Talk the Talk,” part of the silver level, works on honing communication skills of students. The gold level includes a class called “Creating Your Personal Statement,” during which the students create a mission statement that provides direction based on their own unique purpose.

The optional classes are even more diverse and can be chosen at the student’s discretion to satisfy their own interests. Classes include “What Am I Supposed To Do With All My Extra Time?,” “Productive Frustration—Conflict Management,” “Etiquette Dinner” and “Outdoor Experiential Learning Leadership.”

Brenna Hucka, an intern in student activities and graduate student at Mankato State University, has been coordinating the G.O.L.D. program this year, including marketing the program, choosing team leaders and maintaining contact with presenters.

“I think that it is beneficial to all students. If you want to pursue more leadership positions, it will give you the tools to do that. It will give you a solid experience to tell people about and [will teach you] how to relay. These experiences into resumes and job interviews. Most employers are looking for leadership skills,” Hucka said.

The program is based upon the servant leadership model, which is defined as those who “continually strive to be trustworthy, self-aware, humble, caring, visionary, empowering, relational, skilled in communication, compassionate as collaborators, competent, good stewards, community builders and ethical in exercising moral authority,” according to the G.O.L.D. pamphlet.

“Because it’s based on the servant leadership model, you define that [leadership] role as serving those who you lead,” Hucka summarized.

“It’s so mainstream for students, anyone can do it. It reaches a lot of people. Once you get going in it, there’s a lot of different avenues,” Senior Public Accounting Major Hannah Fischer said. “You won’t learn about the same thing every session. There is a good variety of topics.”

After the completion of the program, or even one level of it, the desired outcomes include critical thinking, independence, acknowledgement of personal strengths and limitations, strength in articulation, the ability to strive for goals, understanding of one’s own identity and the ability to work within social and legal standards or norms to create change.

“It’s really tailored to Gustavus students. Gustavus [faculty and alumni] are presenting topics, and it is very important and useful for all students,” Hucka said.

Students interested in the G.O.L.D. program can visit www.gustavus.edu/sao/gold/.