Eleven Complete 7th Randolph Community College Student Leadership Academy

Eleven students graduated from Randolph Community College’s seventh annual Student Leadership Academy on March 18. The students were chosen for the Academy based on a competitive process that considered leadership experience, leadership potential, and a letter of reference from a faculty member.

Dr. Brenda Kays, president of Stanly Community College, was the keynote speaker at Tuesday’s graduation ceremony held in the R. Alton Cox Learning Resources Center auditorium. Kays talked to the students about three “pearls of wisdom” that had inspired her during her 29 years working at community colleges. Kays said the advice included “picking your battles wisely,” from a vice president at her first college job. He wanted her to understand that “you can’t fix everything at once,” she said, “and I learned the fine art of compromise and collaboration along the way.” After a particularly grueling board meeting at another college, she asked the president how he stood that level of diversity. He told her, “If everyone is always 100% satisfied and happy with what you are doing, you are probably not doing your job,” which taught her that a thick skin is necessary in a leadership position. The third “pearl” was “you either need to change your people or change your people.” She explained that change is difficult for people and that as a leader, you have the responsibility to lead people through that change, or get rid of them if they cannot change.

For more on this story and a list of graduates, go to http://www.randolph.edu/newevents/2014/2014-03-20.php.