Civic Leadership Academy

Written by CLA member Nathan Feuquay

Civic service. Community development. Social entrepreneurship.

These acts, along with many others, all point towards the same goal: strengthening a community, the relationships within a community, and the citizens in that community. The question then remains as to how we can make an impact. Let’s dive into the inner workings of the CLA and civic leadership!

So what is the Civic Leadership Academy at Texas Tech University? Filled with curiosity, that is one of the many questions that I asked myself as I applied to the program. Truthfully, I had no clear idea of the opportunities in store for me as I submitted my application. However, I did know two things: I desire to grow myself, and I have a desire to leave an impact where I reside. To me, the CLA provided a challenge to see how far I can take my personal growth and how I can apply that growth to strengthen communities. With these ideas in mind, I embarked upon my journey in the CLA in January.  

At our first meeting of this 12-month program, we began to discover what civic leadership truly was, what our time in this academy will look like, and what we would like to learn upon completion. So, let me ask you this: do you know if you are an adaptive or innovative person? Do you know what these personality traits look like? For many of us, it was our first exposure to these traits, and we discovered which one described us through the KAI test. An adaptive person solves issues by trying to make things better in a situation, and an innovative person solves issues by trying to make things different in a situation. With the results of our tests, we grouped together to problem solve and discover how these problem-solving styles work together. It was an eye-opening experience that showed us the benefit of diversity in the groups we are members of.

From there, our members tackled the task of setting the foundation for what expectations we wanted ourselves to uphold. One of my favorite expectations of professionalism that we set is that we should be intentional with our words and actions. In today’s society, our actions and words can be broadcasted at a moment’s notice. This can create negative impacts, but it also allows us to spread our message and plans to the world. I believe that if we are intentional with our actions and words, we, as a group, can achieve our program and personal goals. It is my hope that our inaugural class of the CLA will encourage civic engagement across the country. Finally, as previously mentioned, we set program and personal goals at our January meeting. Some highlights of our program goals are to create a legacy of giving back to the community, grow the CLA program, and uphold a professional standard. I feel these goals will allow us to expand our leadership skills exponentially. I know that our time in the CLA will ensure that we have all the tools necessary to accomplish these goals that we have set for ourselves.

Now, let’s discuss what we learned about civic leadership and our roles as leaders in a community at our February meeting. Before we begin, what do you think civic leadership is? Got your answer? Here is what we came up with: it is leadership within our community and assessing the needs within our community. I think that these definitions give us a good foundation for beginning to understand our role as civic leaders. To expand upon that, we examined what makes up civic leadership and came up with these characteristics: doing it for genuine concern, knowing our community and community needs, and being a role model in our community. With an understanding of civic leadership, we dove into digesting what community development is comprised of. What is your definition of it? We determined that community development is finding a solution to a whole problem and not just one component of it, and it does not have to always be a physical problem.

Looking at our Lubbock community, would you say that Texas Tech students are active in the community? If you answered yes, in what ways do you think they are? If you answered no, what reasons do you think are encouraging this? After much discussion, thinking like TTU students, we highlighted the idea that Texas Tech and Lubbock both give the feeling of being separate communities. Although there are no clear reasons as to why this occurs, we felt that the biggest problem facing this gap is a lack of communication between TTU students and the Lubbock community. Personally, I do not know what goes on in Lubbock other than the significant crowd-drawing events. Many feel as if they have no impact on the Lubbock community’s decisions. So how do we address this issue? Firstly, our group thought that the leaders of the Lubbock community and the leaders of TTU should meet to discuss the needs, a plan of action, and attainable goals that would benefit each sector of this relationship. From there, our group feels that raising awareness about this gap between TTU and the Lubbock community is essential in removing the barriers. We need to show the 40,000+ students attending TTU that the Lubbock community can be our community if we make it. Beyond that, we need to express that community development improves Lubbock for the students and the citizens.

Closing our February meeting, Mrs. Cele Stone, from the TTU Innovation Hub at Research Park, came and spoke to our group about their program, entrepreneurship, and social entrepreneurship. The Innovation Hub is a program that provides Red Raiders and Lubbock community members with the opportunity to turn their visions into social and/or commercial realities. The highlight of the program, for me, is the mentorship and community outreach that is provided. Everyone involved in the program has access to resources, relationships, and guidance to achieve a goal(s). As a step to bridge the gap between Texas Tech and the Lubbock community, the Innovation Hub is uniting the populous. I cannot wait to learn more about how I can play an active role in this initiative.

Over these past two months, we have learned a vast amount of information about civic leadership and the role that we play in our community. I now also have a better understanding of the importance of civic leadership. Civic leadership is essential in communities to ensure that all the community’s needs are being met, not just the major ones. No two areas of a community hold the same needs, and an urban community and a rural community require different aspects of attention. For future generations, it is our job to create communities that empower our citizens. We hold our own future, and only we can take action to improve it. I am beyond ecstatic about what my time in the Civic Leadership Academy holds for me. More importantly, I am thrilled about the relationships and knowledge that I am developing. I encourage you all to follow our group along this journey as we discover how to create an everlasting impact in the Lubbock community and the Davis College. I also urge you to engage in being active in community development and think about ways you are a civic leader.