花都影视

In class, on stage, or on the playing field, leadership can take many forms.

鈥淐ombine your values with your ambition," said Franklin & Marshall President Andrew Rich.  鈥淲hen you bring those two things together, you'll start to figure out what you're going to do with your time when you leave here.鈥�

Rich joined Caroline Riegel '26, student body president, for a discussion about student leadership to commence the College's fall Common Hour series Sept. 11.

Rich began July 12 as F&M鈥檚 17th president. A passionate champion for the transformative power of the liberal arts, he has spent his career expanding educational opportunities for young people and preparing the next generation of leaders to be successful. 

Common Hour provides an opportunity for the College community to hear discussions  on a broad spectrum of topics. Two other Common Hours are scheduled this fall.

Below, see a snippet of the hourlong conversation about leadership and community at F&M. Responses have been abridged for length. 

Riegel: If you could give one piece of advice to F&M students as they think about leadership鈥攚hether on campus or beyond鈥攚hat would it be?

President Rich: The first answer is to engage. Get yourself out there. That seems so obvious, and yet, for some people it's easy, but for some people it's a struggle. I think the advice is to both do it for yourself and help somebody else do it, too. Always be mindful as you look around: Who could use a little extra help in any sense but including engaging? 

If you feel connected, if you feel a sense of belonging, you're going to do better 鈥� period. You're going to finish, you're going to do better in classes, you're going to start connecting the dots sooner. If you are involved in some fashion, you're likely to be happier. 

The last thing I'll say on that is: Use your time in college to figure out what you believe. We all get here with some sense of what we care about in the world and what animates how we operate in the world. But one of the most exciting things about college is we're going to challenge you on that. We're going to do it maybe directly, often indirectly. You're going to be challenged on it by your friends and your peers. Sometimes we're open to it, sometimes we're not. How you engage that journey is up to you 鈥� but do engage it, because this can be a pretty key moment in life that you won't have again.

Take a step back to think about where you are positioned against everyone else and everything else in our world. That can help you figure out what your values are. And part of the reason I say that is because, what you ultimately want to do is figure out how to combine your values with your ambition. 

If you ignore your values in favor of ambition only, you'll often end up misplaced and on the wrong path. In the spirit of engaging, do it in ways that could ultimately help you figure out values. Figure out your ambition and figure out what your path holds.

Mentorship: What F&M Does Differently

What does success look like to F&M students? 鈥淪uccess means different things to different people, but no matter the definition, it relies on students having the skills and confidence to chart their own paths in life,鈥� says Matt Thomas '10, director of leadership and education at F&M.

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