Eugenio María de Hostos (1839 to 1903) embodied the qualities of a leader: He was a great patriot, an educator, a reformer, a public advocate, and a staunch supporter of women’s rights and the abolition of slavery and oppression throughout the world. Student Leadership Academy members and alumni truly embody the spirit of Hostos Community College’s namesake. They develop advanced leadership abilities while honing their individual and collective talents, broadening their world views, and learning to devote their heads, hands and hearts to acts of voluntary service in their local, regional and world communities. The Leadership Academy creates and coordinates college-wide academic and co-curricular activities that prepare students to be effective global citizens who are engaged in transforming their communities through scholarship, work and volunteer service. Taking into account the diverse backgrounds of Hostos students, the Leadership Academy offers multiple access points. Students may have a formal relationship with the Academy by enrolling in one of its five programs: the Student Ambassador Program, the Students Orientation Services (SOS) Team Program, the Emerging Leaders Program, the Hostos Athletic Leaders Organization (HALO), or the Volunteer Corps. They may also choose a less formal relationship with the Academy by participating in programs offered to the entire Hostos student body. The Leadership Academy works in coordination with the Global Scholars Program, the Honors Program, the Student Government Association, the Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society and other campus groups, clubs and organizations, as well as within the academic disciplines, to develop leadership initiatives and host workshops and training sessions to promote leadership techniques and ideals in the larger Hostos community. The Hostos Leadership Academy also works in coordination with the CUNY Leadership Academy to routinely enhance and develop programming and activities for students throughout the CUNY system, or on other CUNY campuses. The five Student Leadership Academy Programs:
• Hostos Student Ambassador Program
• Student Orientation Services Team
• Emerging Leaders Program
• Hostos Community College Volunteer Corps
• Hostos Athletic Leaders Organization (HALO)
The tools utilized to achieve the goals and objectives of the Academy are:
• Self-Assessment and Reflection
• Skill Building
• Problem Solving
• Mentoring
• Community Involvement/Service
• Public Policy
• Intercultural Issues
• Service Learning and Servant Leadership
• Cultural Activities
• Student Leadership of Programs
• Targeted Training and Development
• Student Recognition
• Scholarship Development
• Transcript and Portfolio Development
• Capstone Experiences
Ambassadors are the first line of students utilized as a resource of Hostos, CUNY and the Bronx. They are recognized as high-achievers who are dedicated to their roles as servant leaders. They attend conferences, give testimony at hearings, and support the administration and CUNY central at a variety of events and locales.
•Ambassadors are required to maintain a GPA of 3.25 or higher and take six or more credits each semester.
•Each Ambassador commits to one year of service and agrees to serve 40 hours of community service each semester that they are in the academy.
•Student Ambassadors also provide mentorship, support, do community outreach and plan and implement community service activities for the larger group.
•In order to become a student ambassador you must go through a rigorous interview process and provide letters of recommendation, a resume and documentation of unique and service oriented activities that you have been a part of in your life.
•The Student Leadership Advisory Council provides guidance and support to the members of the academy and takes on a mentorship role with individual students throughout their stay at Hostos Community College. (Members of the Student Leadership Advisory Council are made up of faculty, staff, alumni and the Student Leadership Coordinator.)
•The Hostos Student Ambassadors receive specialized training in workshops specifically designed for their needs on Fridays from 3:30 to 5:30 PM. Workshops are provided in debate, public speaking, voice and diction, mask making, ethics and etiquette, leadership skills, parliamentary procedure, effective mentorship, writing skills and job skills preparation. In addition, winter and summer workshops are offered to help enhance the skills of the members of the academy. Workshops are mandatory for Hostos Student Ambassadors and are open to participation by SOS Team Members. The Academy also offers a weekly Leadership Film Series for all students at the college. (Hostos Student Ambassadors Host the weekly Wednesday night event from 6-9 PM.) The Student Orientation Services (SOS) Team serves as a feeder group for Hostos Student Ambassadors. If, after a semester of service, an SOS Team member shows a great commitment and maintains or improves their GPA, they can be promoted through a tier system into the Ambassador Program. SOS Team Members commit to 24 hours of service over the course of one year, providing support to students for a variety of functions, including registration, orientations, college tours and job fairs. Team Members must have a GPA of 2.8 or higher and are required to be registered for at least six (6) credits per semester. SOS Team Members receive specialized training in mandatory workshops specially designed for them. They also receive a toolkit to help them to produce results as a team player. The workshops are also open to any member of the Academy.
•SOS Team Members have a GPA of 2.8 or higher and are required to be registered for at least six credits per semester.
•A SOS Team Member commits to one year of service and makes a generous commitment of 24 hours to provide support to students during registration, orientations, college tours and job fairs, (amongst other things.)
•The SOS Team is currently a feeder group for the Hostos Student Ambassadors and if after a semester of service an SOS Team Members shows a great commitment to service and maintains or improves their GPA they can be promoted, through a tier system into the Ambassador Program.
•The SOS Team receives specialized team training in workshops specially designed for them. They also receive a toolkit that will help them to produce results as a team player. Team Training Workshops are mandatory for SOS Team Members and are open to participation by any other member of the Academy that would like to participate.
•There is no GPA requirement for recruits who participate in the Emerging Leaders Program.
•The initiative is to provide students, who may want to participate in doing community service activities or may benefit from receiving special training, with the opportunity to do so, without overwhelming them in their efforts to work to improve themselves academically.
•The hope is that by giving student who have struggled the opportunity to participate in specialized programming, they may be more inclined to be active on campus, may receive unique mentoring from Ambassadors or SOS Team Members and can grow and develop into valuable assets to the college community as well as improving themselves academically.
•The Emerging Leaders Program will represent a third tier in Hostos Leadership Academy’s Membership and members of this group will be eligible for promotion into the SOS Team, based upon meeting certain criteria.
