History
History
The Leadership Advantage program originated at Iowa State University in 1997. In its first year the program had 15 participants. Participants were broken into three teams, each led by two student facilitators, and did challenge course activities, visited with two local engineering firms, lunched with representatives from the different colleges, did a written leadership evaluation, and engaged in presentations by different college student organizations. Response from the first year's program was so great that the next year two sessions were created and filled. Since then, the program has continued to grow in size and has spread to many campuses nationwide.
Here at the University of Louisville, Leadership Advantage has grown to one session with 30 participants. The program is offered exclusively to incoming freshmen entering the Speed School of Engineering. Because of the intensity of the engineering field, the price of success can sometimes be expressed in terms of missed opportunities for traditional leadership and social development. Leadership Advantage allows students to develop their leadership skills and knowledge about opportunities at U of L before becoming fully engaged in the rigors of college life. Leadership Advantage is an entirely student run organization. It is sponsored by the U of L Student Life Office, Speed School Student Council, Triangle Fraternity Education Foundation, the Louisville Chapter of Triangle Fraternity, and the Society of Women Engineers.