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ExpLearn: Leadership

Leadership activities require engaging in a substantial, immersive leadership experience or participating in leadership training activities outside the traditional classroom. These can be curricular, co-curricular, or extracurricular. The goal of these activities is to learn how to leverage the strengths of others to achieve common goals or to use interpersonal skills to coach and develop others. Examples of activities that meet this standard are peer leadership/mentoring experiences, resident/community assistants, student leadership roles in clubs, organizations, and student government, and leadership training, summits, and retreats.

Campus Resources

Taylor Leadership Institute
Osprey Involvement Center
Perch Portal
Student Government Association
Housing & Residence Life

  • Project PREP - PREP to Teach

    UNF student in PREP sitting on the floor and reading with two elementary students.The UNF College of Education and Human Services, along with Clay County District Schools and the UNF College of Arts and Sciences, secured a $7M partnership grant, Project PREP (Partnering to Renew the Educator Pipeline) to address the critical teacher shortage and strengthen teaching outcomes for every student. This school-university-district partnership grant is a systemic approach to building an educator pathway, enhancing the recruitment, preparation, induction, and retention of teachers and teacher-leaders across the teacher pipeline in a high-need school district.

    Project PREP consists of five components that will help develop the educator workforce. These components include:

    1. high school dual enrollment,
    2. undergraduate teacher preparation and certification,
    3. early career professional learning,
    4. teacher leadership graduate certificates and advanced credentials stackable towards a master’s degree in Elementary Education at UNF or school principal learning through Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership, and
    5. an Educational Doctorate in Educational Leadership or Curriculum and Instruction. UNF offers all these opportunities and programs to PREP members.

    The program for undergraduate students is a partnership between UNF and Clay County District Schools for those dedicated to elementary education and who have a desire to make a difference in the lives of underserved elementary students. With PREP, UNF juniors and seniors can begin their field placement in Clay County while receiving financial support through stipends, mentorship from high-quality teachers and faculty, ongoing coaching, training, and instruction, options to conduct research, and the benefit of becoming a paid substitute teacher.

  • Environmental Leadership Program (ELP)

    Student with the Environmental Leadership Program showing her poster to a community member.The Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) is a non-credit, training and scholarship program offered through the Institute of Environmental Research and Education (IERE) for students who want to become environmental leaders. Students from any major or college can apply. In the current school year, 30 students representing 17 different academic departments were selected based on merit to enroll in the year-long program.

    The fall semester consists of environmental studies and science background education, professional development and training, and networking with community partners and employers. In the spring semester, ELP scholars collaborate with their community partners to execute an environmental project that is mutually beneficial for both the student and the organization.

    The culmination of the program is the ELP Symposium at the end of the spring semester where students share their project with UNF and the larger community at a formal ceremony to recognize their work. Furthermore, each year at the ELP Symposium, outstanding work is recognized with Student of the Year and Poster of the Year awards.

    Though IERE and the ELP are not directly affiliated with Brooks College of Health, many students from the college have participated in the program and currently a Public Health faculty member, Erin Largo-Wight, leads the program.

  • Osprey Racing

    Students with Osprey Racing Group at track with car.Each year, the UNF Osprey Racing student club competes in the International Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Collegiate Design Series competition at the Michigan International Speedway. In the 2022 year, the team placed 18th overall.

    The annual four-day competition hosts 120 teams from across the globe, with each team competing in three static and four dynamic events. The static events include a business presentation, engineering design evaluation, and a budget cost analysis. The dynamic events include acceleration, skid pad, autocross, and endurance/fuel economy testing.

    The team of 16 students worked on the 10th rendition of the Osprey Racing vehicle created for the SAE competition. What is unique is that the team consists of a mix of engineering and business majors who work all year on designing and building the new race car. The 2022 edition included a completely, newly designed frame. Osprey Racing is an exemplar of interdisciplinary work and plays a significant role at UNF as a way for engineering and business students to work together to apply what they learn in the classroom. In addition, participation in the Osprey Racing Club has contributed to students being directly recruited and hired for jobs through exposure to employers at the SAE competition.