Randolph Community College student Shane Bryson of Thomasville graduated from the North Carolina Community College System Student Leadership Institute on March 11 in Raleigh.
The Student Leadership Institute, which is cosponsored by the NCCCS and the N.C. Association of Community College Presidents, is a yearlong leadership development program. Students are offered a variety of hands-on educational learning opportunities. They attend a weeklong summer session at Peace College and fall and spring weekend sessions. Students are nominated by administrators and advisors on their campuses and selected by the SLI Board of Directors for the Institute. The goal of the program is to train better leaders, who then go back to their home campuses to teach others.
"The Student Leadership Institute has been an experience I would not trade for anything," said Bryson. "Through the various workshops and rigorous projects, I have gained valuable tools that will help me in my future endeavors and have helped me become an all-around better person. The best part of the SLI experience has been the lifelong friendships I have built with students all around the state in other community colleges going through the same training. Together I am sure we are fully prepared to be future leaders in our state because of the Student Leadership Institute."
Bryson, 25, is a graduate of Southwestern Randolph High School and attended Southern Wesleyan University. At RCC, he is majoring in Computer Information Technology and plans to also earn a history degree from the University of Maryland online.
Bryson is currently president of the RCC Student Government Association and was a delegate last year. He is also a participant in RCC's 2010-2011 Student Leadership Academy and a Foundation Ambassador. Bryson works part time as a Distance Education facilitator at RCC.
He is very involved with the youth group at Central Carolina Community Church. He is the son of Felecia and Gene Bryson of Thomasville.
