Becoming a leader of character and influence is at the core of the commitment The College of Wooster’s mission makes to every student. The journey students take throughout their time at Wooster empowers them with strengths to support that commitment. Before the Class of 2030 began that journey this fall, 30 members of the class took part in the launch of Leadership Compass through opening expeditions that not only took them off campus and away from their phones to a backpacking trip in Oil City State Park, Pennsylvania, a performing arts workshop, or a service immersion experience with Wayne County community organizations — but also helped to prepare them to make connections and explore their potential as Wooster students and future leaders.
These opening expeditions are part of Leadership Compass, a leadership continuum that features four years of signature experiences that mark developmental milestones in a student's leadership journey at Wooster, plus College alumni may return as mentors and facilitators to help guide future cohorts. Through Leadership Compass, students develop an internal guide — a compass — that teaches them to recognize the capacity for leadership in themselves and how all types of experiences from pre-orientation expeditions to a leadership institute course strengthen that capacity for their life as Wooster alumni leaders.
“We want all our students to understand leadership as a capacity that everyone has,” said Matthew Broda, Ruth W. and A. Morris Williams Jr. Chair of Education. “It's not someone who is just a born leader or who has the leadership gene. We know through the right kind of experience and nurturing that every student has the capacity to strengthen both themselves, which is a form of leadership, but our community as well.”
Broda co-founded the program along with Ryan Ozar, associate professor of education, and Abby Righter, senior assistant director of admissions. The trio explained together that leadership incorporates self-reflection, listening, collaborating, contributing, and also, taking responsibility, supporting others, navigating uncertainty, and knowing when to lead, follow, or even step aside. Leadership Compass, structured with the same intentional, multiyear preparation system as Wooster’s signature Independent Study capstone research program, is grounded in the principals of expeditionary leadership building through preparation, challenge, collaboration, reflection, adaptability, and stewardship.
Opening expeditions embed confidence in pursuing opportunities
Selected from incoming Wooster student applicants from around the country, the 30 students who participated in this fall’s opening expeditions joined one of three groups of 10 students, led by each of the founders, along with College alumni volunteers, faculty, and staff. Immersing the students together in off-campus lodging, with limited access to cell phones, allowed them to focus on the experience, reflect on their own values and strengths, and start to make connections before they embark on their first year at College.
“This pre-orientation program is a springboard to the first year of college,” said Ozar. “I anticipate the students participating in the opening expeditions will have a bit more confidence in taking advantage of all that Wooster has to offer them in the coming years, whether that be signing up for another phase of Compass, pursuing opportunities that seem new and different, or connecting with more people in our community.”
Finding meaning from a walk in the wilderness
Naturally connecting to expeditionary learning, Broda led ten students along with Naomi Kaczor ’27, Karrie McAllister ’99, and Mae Evans, associate director of stewardship and development communications at Wooster, as they carried their gear and camped throughout Pennsylvania backwoods, valleys, hillsides, and wetlands.
“The trip introduces habits that will matter throughout college, such as asking for help, reflecting on experiences, taking healthy risks, contributing to a team, and learning from challenges,” Broda explained. “Students see that leadership is not just about holding a position or being the person in charge. It is also about showing up, supporting others, being willing to try something unfamiliar, and helping a group move forward.”
Participating in the expedition helped Rhys Napier ’30 find camaraderie within the campus community that she sees supporting future opportunities to seek out leadership and connection. “Compass was an opportunity for a small group of students to get to truly know each other over a short period of time in one of the biggest transitions many of us had faced in our lives, while also giving all of us an opportunity to lead our peers and help the group to achieve a common goal,” said Napier, noting that students stepped into the leadership role as they mapped out their trails for the day, learned from each other about flora and fauna, and shared common interests.
McAllister, a geology alumna who led backpacking trips with the WOODS club in her time at the College, felt honored to join the expedition, and the new Wooster students left a strong impression on her. “They worked well together in the group, filled the days and evenings with meaningful conversation, and never once complained about not having their phones,” McAllister said. “To begin their time on campus already having had some of the nerves taken away and replaced with leadership skills and confidence is a perfect way to set a student up for success. I am so excited about the future of the Compass program at Wooster!”
Improvising through something new
In a different kind of opportunity to think on their feet, Ozar’s expedition team learned to use the phrase “Yes, And” in a performing arts immersion. With a homebase in Wayne and Homes Counties, students took part in team building, reflection exercises, hikes, rehearsing, singing, choreography, and ultimately performing at West View Healthy Living Chapel, a senior community in Wooster. Laura Neil ’89, executive director of Wooster’s Ohio Light Opera and Sarah McGraw Krushinski ’85, who runs Wexford Acting Studio in Pennsylvania, directed students through learning the pieces for the performance.
“We did something new and difficult for each of us, which provided a fantastic opportunity for reflection on the qualities that we develop that can make us thoughtful collaborators, communicators, and leaders,” said Ozar. “I hope the students took away stronger relationships with a group of first-year students, a better understanding of their own skills and abilities, an interest in taking on challenges, and a better understanding of different facets and organizations in the community around Wooster.”
First year participant James Harvey ’30 found the experience helped him to pre-establish a community on campus. “Being without our phones, spending every second of every day thinking about the activity, and working towards a common goal facilitated near instant connection between the members of Compass,” he said. “Having pre-established connections before the first day of college was truly one of the most useful preparations.”
Becoming agents of community change
Led by Righter, who knew some of the students through her work as an admissions counselor, another expedition group volunteered with local nonprofit service organizations in the Wooster community including People to People Ministries, Habitat for Humanity, Trinity United Church of Christ’s North Street Mission, and Homeward Bound. Joining them were Brandon Burkey ’18, TyLynn Gault ’27, and Katie Shideler ’21, assistant coach for women's lacrosse.
“At each stop, we slowly began to learn where our strengths lied,” said Ellie Falb ’30. “Whether it was creating an assembly to make 75 grilled cheese sandwiches at Homeward Bound, unloading a U-Haul full of lumber at Habitat for Humanity, or cooking breakfast in the mornings at the North Street Mission, we learned how to work together to make an impactful difference, and along the way we just happened to become friends.”
Righter sees participating in local service projects strengthening connections between the College, its students, and the community. “Students learned to collaborate in service of a shared goal, solve problems, and reflect on their experiences both individually and collectively,” Righter said. “Our hope is that these experiences will help students develop the skills and mindset needed to address important challenges with ethical judgment and collaborative leadership.”
As a participant in Wooster’s Student Leadership Institute course when he was a student, Burkey sees Leadership Compass providing current students an extension of a distinct value he took away from his own time at Wooster. “There is something particularly powerful about learning about solidarity and leadership while actually putting those ideas into practice and then taking the time to reflect on what those experiences mean,” Burkey said. “What excites me most about Leadership Compass is its potential to make explicit something that has always been one of the most distinctive parts of a Wooster education: the expectation that our education should prepare us not only to succeed, but to contribute.”
What’s Next for Leadership Compass?
Returning to campus in time for orientation events with the rest of the Class of 2030 after the expeditions, students felt energized to take on new opportunities. “After coming back from the Compass, I felt more comfortable meeting new groups and new people,” said Lindsay LaBossiere ’30, part of the local community change agents expedition. “It helped me realize that stepping outside of my comfort zone can lead to new experiences and connections.” Falb also added, “As I start my education at Wooster, I’m so excited to continue serving the Wooster community and the College in leadership roles alongside my peers.”
Next semester, several first-year students will participate in the Student Leadership Institute course as part of the next phase of Leadership Compass for students in their first year at Wooster, and in collaboration with the College’s Advancement team, co-founders, Broda, Ozar, and Righter will continue to build out additional phases of the program throughout students’ four-year journey including a leadership retreat for juniors aimed at developing leadership and team-building competencies alongside alumni mentors. Alumni and friends interested in supporting the future of the program should reach out to Advancement at the College.
Featured image: The 2026 Inaugural pre-orientation cohort of Leadership Compass gathered for ice cream and greetings prior to departure.