Summer Owens, Author and FedEx Senior Marketing Specialist, relates her experience as an alumna of the Emerging Leaders program.

Summer Owens

In high school, I was very involved in student organizations and held leadership positions in a number of them. I wanted a similar experience in college and was excited about the opportunity to receive a scholarship that would provide me with exposure to key people and organizations on campus as well as develop my leadership skills.

As an Emerging Leader, I was pushed to explore various campus organizations and pursue leadership positions that I otherwise may not have considered. Additionally, the program afforded me opportunities to meet leaders on campus and throughout the community and learn from their experience and advice. The program also helped me meet and become friends with other students on campus who were growing leaders as well. Probably most importantly, the program helped me to learn more about myself as an individual, as a student, and as a leader. On our first day of class, we received Franklin Planners from the Dean of Students and were shown how to use them effectively. The planners and the Emerging Leaders program taught me how to prioritize, plan and manage the full schedule I had in college and continue to enjoy today.

The leadership skills I learned in college through the Emerging Leaders program have provided me with a great foundation for developing as a leader in my career as well as helping me to develop others. From confidence and creativity to self-discipline and time management skills, my experience in the Emerging Leaders program truly prepared me for life and leadership after college. In addition, the relationships developed with other campus leaders as well as University of Memphis professionals have been invaluable in many ways.

I valued my experience as an Emerging Leader so much that I included it in my first book, Life After Birth: A Memoir of Survival and Success as a Teenage Mother. In it I discuss my journey to the University of Memphis and the blessing that the Emerging Leaders scholarship was to my life.