Taylor created a new servant leadership minor with classes being offered this fall.
The minor classes will be led by Steve Austin, associate dean of students and director of student programs. Currently, one class from the curriculum is available.
The minor includes 16 hours total and 10 core classes with three hours that expand intercultural humility. Additionally, the minor will require three hours of a course within one’s major that deepens leadership skills, Austin said.
The servant leadership minor has been a labor of love for Austin since its initial inception in 2021. He has been tasked with taking the minor idea and developing the classes and teaching.
The initial goal for the servant leadership minor is for students to grow as leaders, being continually changed and impacted by Christ.
“The goal is to learn and grow as leaders who are actively being transformed by Jesus,” Austin said. “We have designed the minor to create academic spaces where we learn, apply what we are learning through practice, reflect, receive feedback and then continue learning.”
Junior Carolyn Salvemini is enrolled in a one credit hour class included in the minor — Reflective Practices in Leadership. The class has helped her bridge the gap between two areas of her life: being a personnel assistant (PA) and a human physiology major.
Her PA role requires her to become a leader and mentor in her residence hall, but also gives her a desire to grow in her leadership skills. In the same way, she has a desire to see positive leadership in her vocation of human physiology.
“In following Christ's life, he was a servant, but he wasn't timid,” Salvemini said. “He was a leader and he was servant minded, and that's what made him such a great leader, is that he was looking out for the benefits of others.”
One thing Salvemini and senior Mary Abrell have learned is the importance of asking and answering questions well. Most work done in the class is guided journaling, reflective walks or simply having conversations. These simple acts help students to learn practices of thinking deeply and intentionally about how to answer difficult questions before answering.
“I think that there is a call to action for believers to carefully consider the thoughts that they have, and to be careful with them,” Abrell said. “Allowing my thought patterns to lead me into questions is what I really have appreciated, and to think deeper about those thoughts, instead of just allowing them to pass by.”
Austin said that the classes in the minor are a good fit for anyone who wants to grow and connect their faith to everyday life and leadership opportunities and challenges.
Anyone interested in learning more about this new opportunity is invited to register for the introductory class, offered during interterm, Introduction to Servant-Leadership: Following the Way of Jesus. Students seeking more information about the class or the minor should contact Steve Austin at staustin@taylor.edu.
