The University of Lethbridge Department of Athletics has launched a new student-athlete Leadership Academy in an effort to inspire Canada’s next generation of leaders through excellence in sport, academics, and community service.
Founded by Dr. Scott Rathwell, a faculty member from the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Lethbridge, Joshua Hoetmer, a mental performance consultant from the Alberta Sport Development Centre SW, and Spencer Pommells, the Director of Athletics at the University of Lethbridge, the University of Lethbridge will become the first University in Western Canada to offer a program of this kind. At its core, the academy takes a social identity approach to leadership and will include representation of all 7 U SPORTS teams at the University of Lethbridge.
With these student athlete leaders, we will launch the program by reconstructing what it means to be a Pronghorn and will be setting a new standard of excellence. By co-creating a unified pronghorn identity and standard of excellence, we are establishing the foundation necessary to galvanize players’ motivation and harness the power of our athletes’ coordinated energies in order to optimize achievement in our three pillars of success: sport, the classroom, and the community. Athletes within the leadership academy will also be taught important life skills (i.e., initiative, teamwork, social skills, networking) that will allow them to achieve our standard of excellence and prepare them for their transition into the workforce.
The values of the Pronghorn Leadership Academy as selected by it's members:
- Resiliency
- Community
- Leadership
- Responsibility
These guiding principles lead Pronghorn student athletes through the everyday challenges of being a University student athlete. And when face with obstacles, these student athletes display the above characteristics while continuing to champion what it means to be a Pronghorn Varsity Athlete.
