Train for a life of leadership at MBU

Leadership Training the MBU Way

When you choose a college for your education, do you just want a piece of paper, or do you also want the ability to become a leader? When you walk across the MBU stage on graduation day, we want you to have both. But that doesn’t just happen overnight. So what does leadership training really look like for students at Maranatha? To outline every way we train leaders would be impossible, but there are three key aspects of leadership training that are integral to life on campus. 

1. An Emphasis on Critical Thinking  

It’s the skill every employer is looking for. The ability to evaluate ideas, create and critique your own, and solve problems is invaluable to any workplace.  

Critical thinking is the engine of improvement. There is always opportunity to make things better through careful evaluation and planning. The willingness and the capability to think critically gives you the skills to be an “improver” in your public and personal life.  

The MBU experience seeks to foster this critical thinking at all levels. You won’t just think critically about your academics, but also about your personal relationships and your spiritual life. In the classroom, you will be challenged with academic concepts, but you’ll evaluate those concepts in relationship to who you are as a person.  

Critical thinking helps you take those various ideas and experiences and apply them to every area of your life. When you think critically about your life now and in the future, you begin habits of growth that make you a better person, a better Christian, and eventually a better leader. 

 2. Opportunities for Peer Leadership 

One of the hardest things you will do in your life is lead among your friends. Effective peer leadership is more than a title; it includes a lifestyle of consistent integrity, trustworthiness, compassion, and kindness. And it’s more than a simple “be nice to everyone” mentality. It can’t be fully explained because it will look different everywhere you go.  

Peer leadership is something you learn by experience, so Maranatha lets you train for leadership by being a leader in many different settings 

Take dorm life as an example. Each room has a Room Leader, each floor has a Resident Assistant, and each dorm has a Dorm Supervisor. Students in these roles answer simple questions about classes and daily life at MBU, but they also have opportunities to invest in the personal and spiritual lives of their roommates. In such a position, effective leadership becomes a lifestyle from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed.  

Another example is Student Societies. If you choose to serve as a leader in your Society you may have the opportunity to lead chapels and activities. This gives you both practical and personal leadership experiences similar to those you will encounter in your home, church, or workplace.  

The opportunities don’t stop there. They stretch to MBU sports teams, musical performing groups, fine arts events, and even class projects.  

 3. Faculty and Staff Mentoring Students 

If you talk to MBU graduates there’s a high chance they will name at least one if not several professors or staff members that had a huge impact on their academic, professional, and spiritual life.  

This aspect of faculty and staff mentoring is something that sets MBU apart from other universities. The faculty and staff know your name, and they want you to succeed academically. Most importantly, they want you to grow spiritually and they want to give you the tools you need to thrive in your life after college.  

At MBU, class sizes are smaller for better discussion and specialized learning. But the greatest impact of faculty and staff mentoring happens outside the classroom. MBU faculty come from all over the nation and the world and they bring with them life experiences that shape the way they will teach you to be an effective leader. They will advise you to learn from their own mistakes and successes and their advice and encouragement will stay with you long after you leave Maranatha.  

Choosing Maranatha is choosing more than academic excellence and an encouraging spiritual atmosphere. It is also taking the first step toward a lifestyle of leadership that will follow you long after graduation.