Sarah Adams, Student Leadership Assistant, spoke to students about the importance of goal setting on Wednesday.

The seminar was part of a comprehensive leadership development program focused on encouraging students to recognize leadership in education.

Adams said the program is geared toward any students who are interested in developing their goals and completing the Leadership Certificate Program.

“The Leadership Certificate program is a self-paced program [run by] the Center for Leadership,” she said. “It takes all of the skills and volunteer experiences that students obtain through mentoring or workshops like this, so when you graduate you receive a tangible certificate for your accomplishments.”

Adams began the seminar talking about why goals are important for successful organizations.

“If you don’t have goals for your group, it will be harder to stay on track because nobody knows that they’re working towards,” she said.

Adams explained the importance of goal setting throughout students’ college careers.

“When we first come to college, our basic goals include getting an education, getting good grades and getting a job,” she said. “But there’s so many things in between that we don’t think about. You have to goal set.”

She explained the difference between long-term goals and short-term goals while students mapped out their five-year plan on a worksheet.

Adams said the significance of creating a tangible set of goals relates to manifest destiny and visualizing your accomplishments.

Megan Hemmelgarn, dietetics major, said her short-term goal is getting an internship and her long-term goal is getting her master’s degree.

Freshman Richard Racette said his short-term goal is getting on the dean’s list and his ultimate long-term goal is holding a public office position.

The process of accomplishing goals is composed of action steps, barriers, resources and deadlines.

Adams said action steps define the specific steps you will take to achieve your goal.

“Resources are people or services that will help you achieve your goal, and barriers are obstacles you will need to overcome,” she said.     

Adams noted the significance in deadlines and how they act as a targeted date of completion.

After completing the five-year plan and goals worksheets, students were inspired by the leadership session.

“This seminar was beneficial because it helped me to understand what my goals are and what I want to accomplish with school,” Hemmelgarn said. “I’ve learned that it’s important to develop both short and long-term goals as you visualize your path to success.”

Racette, a member of the Phi Psi fraternity, said the seminar taught him how to efficiently map out goals for the organization.

“It will help our chapter get on the right path to achieving what we really want to do and prioritize our activities,” he said.

To get involved with the Leadership Certificate Program workshops, students can visit the Center for Leadership for more information and apply to be a Student Leadership Assistant.