Student Leadership Development

Project L.E.A.D. (Leadership Education and Development)

Project L.E.A.D. is a Pepperdine alternative spring break program that allows a team of 10-15 students to engage deeply into the concepts and application of leadership principals and service. Students embark on a week-long road trip, stopping in a different city each day. In each city, the Project L.E.A.D. team will gain confidence in their own leadership capabilities as they conduct a leadership workshop in a local high school or middle school. The college students contact the schools to line up the workshops and then design the leadership curriculum that is taught. The second component of the project is that in each city, students will line up interviews with extraordinary leaders in all fields ranging from politics to science to education. Students are inspired to higher levels of excellence and gain invaluable advice from these encounters with world renowned leaders. Project L.E.A.D participants will be highly involved in the process of selecting destinations, lining up meetings with leaders, identifying schools, scheduling workshops, creating curriculum, fundraising, locating housing and recreational activities throughout the trip. During the trip, team members maintain an active blog with highlights of the trip. Project L.E.A.D. is in its third year at Pepperdine with trips this year heading to the East Coast and from LA to Vancouver BC. Previous trips include San Diego to Sacramento, Boston to DC, and Route 66.