Our February 10 Learners to Leaders event was the first phase of an innovative “bridge initiative.” Not only is it a bridge from college to graduate school, it also serves as a bridge between UST's Opus College of Business and the African American community.
The event brought together more than 40 participants from area colleges including: Augsburg College, Carelton College, Concordia College, Macalester College, Metro State University, St. Olaf College, and the University of St. Thomas. In addition to having a strong representation from our area’s best schools, we also had representation from our area’s best companies, including: Cummins, Delta Airlines, Insight News, MN Timberwolves, Target, and RBC Wealth Management.
Learners to Leaders (L2L) was conceived as a professional networking and leadership development initiative. It is designed for college students and recent college graduates from underrepresented communities who have demonstrated leadership ability and expressed an interest in continuing their education at the graduate level.
As a longstanding educational leader in Minnesota, St. Thomas is firmly committed to the communities we serve – communities that contribute to the diversity and vitality of the university. Our goal is to strengthen these communities and our programs by engaging high-potential students in an ongoing dialogue about the opportunities and benefits of a graduate education.
Graduate education is more than a tool to develop mastery of a technical topic such as law, business or the natural sciences. Graduate education at its best is about developing and enhancing leadership skills in high-potential, ambitious individuals who wish to make a difference in the world.