Kosciusko Leadership Academy – Perspective from a Recent Graduate

Gennie Brissette-Tipton, Communications Specialist, OrthoWorx

OrthoWorx is a strong proponent of Kosciusko Leadership Academy (KLA) and has KLA graduates and a board member on its team.

My joining the program was an excellent opportunity for me professionally and extended OrthoWorx support of KLA. April 25, 2013, marked the end of a journey I started late August of last year. The KLA Graduation Banquet was the culmination of eight months of learning about our community, its leadership and how to continue to improve it for future generations. Sitting amidst my classmates, I realized that I was now a part of a much larger group – 21 classes of graduates who are members of our community and have moved into or continue to serve in leadership roles.

When I first signed up for KLA, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Even though I grew up in Leesburg, attended Wawasee High School and have lived as an adult in the area since 2004, I was unfamiliar with several aspects of the community. The first day of class when we toured several businesses in the county by bus, it proved to be a very accurate portrayal of how the rest of the class was going to play out. There are many assets, both natural, like our lakes, and human-driven, like the orthopedic and agricultural industries, that Kosciusko County can boast.

Throughout the class we delved into all sorts of aspects of our community, from the lakes to government and agriculture to human services. I feel that I learned a considerable amount of information about these topics that I would have otherwise not been aware. Our class was introduced to several influential leaders both at the local and state level. We also examined our potential for our own potential leadership by working on presentation skills and identifying our personality types.

All in all, I gained a significant amount of information about our community and feel that I grew from my participation in KLA. I certainly learned a lot about the county where I live! Through the process of developing our white paper project (final project), I was exposed to all sorts of processes and people. Planning a community enhancement project and ensuring that it is actually feasible, both in its functionality within the community and its financial requirements, is no small task. I made some good friends with my project group members in the process, and we had a great time with our project.

I encourage you to enroll in KLA if interested in learning more about where we live and how you can get involved in different aspects of the community. The great thing about it is that anyone from any profession, age or gender can participate in KLA. It is not reserved for people originally from Kosciusko County, nor is it beneficial only to those new to the area. In fact, the more diverse the group, the more opportunities arise for the community through potential projects and the development of future leadership.

To learn more about the KLA visit the newly re-launched website, a white paper project completed by a group from this year’s KLA graduating class.