ABOUT THE PROGRAM

The Eastman Citizenship and Leadership Program is designed for students who want to connect their education to questions of justice and social engagement. Eastman Leaders are motivated, intellectually curious, and academically serious. They are interested in thinking critically about citizenship and discovering themselves as leaders. Eastman Leaders also wish to deepen their local and global understanding through participation in study abroad, service, and internship opportunities. Through this program, Eastman Leaders will grow as learners, travelers, activists, and thoughtful members of their local and global communities.

Over the two years that Eastman leaders participate in the program, they will develop and actualize an individualized discovery plan focused on a driving concern, interest, or question. Eastman students have structured their discovery plans around a wide range of concerns, including environmental justice, storytelling as a tool for empowerment, ethnobotany, student mental health, the media in social movements, sexual safety on campus, education as a tool to combat sex trafficking, food equity, and climate change communication.  Visit the discovery plan tab for details.

The Eastman Leaders are a cohort and a learning community. They discuss difficult issues and key ideas every Wednesday evening in the Eastman seminar. Topics include but are not limited to: the intersection of race and the environment, education as a tool for change, the right use of power, trauma-informed approaches to group work and healing, styles and modes of leadership, and the history of social movements. The Eastman Leaders work together as a team on a group service project in the spring of their junior year. They may travel together, intern together, or study together if their interests overlap, which they often do. As an important feature of the program, the senior Eastman Leaders serve in a mentoring role for the junior Eastman Leaders, brainstorming, offering advice and strategies, and helping in the development of their discovery plans. The Eastman Leaders become friends and allies. If you wish to grow as a leader and a citizen in community with other students that care, please consider applying for the Eastman Citizenship and Leadership Program.

Sample Syllabus

To give you an idea of what our seminar looks like in the classroom, below is a sample syllabus. This syllabus is typical of a Fall semester in the program.