Mission Statement and Course Description

Mission Statement

The mission of LEAD, IMSA's innovative, student-run leadership program, is to facilitate each student's ability to develop self-awareness, motivate and inspire others consistently, communicate effectively, handle imbalance successfully, lead by example, collaborate, embrace diversity, and become contributing members of their communities through open classroom discussions, engaging activities, and real life applications.

Course Description

At the Illinois Math and Science Academy , we believe that every IMSA student has the potential to lead and that leadership can be "learned."  Thus, this course is designed to take an intricate look at definitions, theories, models, and conceptualizations of leadership.  Students will be challenged to think critically about leadership during peer-to-peer facilitated lectures, class discussions, hands-on exercises, and group work.  During the Fall Semester, students are provided with a foundation of leadership, which includes topics such as understanding self, social justice/group dynamics, communication, and conflict resolution/negotiation.  Then during Spring Semester, utilizing an experiential learning approach, students will engage in an in-class simulation in which students will create and lead their own organization.  Through this model of leadership framework, skill training, and hands-on application, students will gain a basic understanding of leadership and the competencies deemed necessary to be an effective leader.