Liv Barefoot is nearing the end of their first year at UNC Asheville but already they have a plan for their college years and beyond.
They’re majoring in political science with a minor in human rights studies. They’re a senator in the Student Government Association and hope to step into a student leadership role eventually. And ultimately, they want to work in human rights law or a similar community-driven space.
All of Barefoot’s plans hinge on intentionally growing and developing as a leader—a process they’re beginning now as one of UNC Asheville’s Leadership Scholars.
The Leadership Scholars Program (LSP), which launched this year, is a four-year program that helps students develop their leadership skills through self-discovery, experiential learning, leadership opportunities, and career readiness. It integrates existing initiatives—such as leadership workshops offered by the Highsmith Student Union, community engagement through the Key Center, and the Career Center’s professional development services—into a cohesive, progressive learning approach.
“The program seemed like the perfect opportunity to build my community and grow as a person overall,” Barefoot says. “It’s helping me create a foundational framework for the kind of leadership I want to do and showing how I can work with a team to better my community.”
More than 40 first-year students applied, and Barefoot was one of 10 students selected for the inaugural cohort. Each year, the LSP will add 10 new first-year students who will progress through the program together. Students also receive a scholarship of $1,500 per semester.
“Research shows that creating a cohort of students who go through a shared experience around learning and community engagement always yields positive outcomes because they are able to reflect with each other along that process,” says Alex Hollifield, associate director of leadership education and development. “They can share their identities and lived experiences, build trust, and show up in a vulnerable and authentic way.”
The LSP officially kicked off in January 2023 with a retreat where students could begin building the relationships that will last throughout their time at UNC Asheville. In addition, students began a process of self-discovery that is continuing in a bi-weekly class, Exploring Leadership, taught by Hollifield and Jessica Inman, director of Highsmith Student Union. In the course, students also study leadership theory and observe its application in real settings on campus. By the end of the first year, Leadership Scholars will have a sense of their personal approach to leadership and a plan for how they want to serve as a leader at UNC Asheville.
A few weeks into the semester, Barefoot says they’ve discovered that their leadership style is more introspective, and they need time to reflect when making decisions.
“I’m someone who likes to observe before I act,” they say. “That way I know what kind of situation I’m going into, whom I’m working with, and how I can best support the people around me.”
Hollifield says the LSP has a layered approach, with each year building on the skills developed in the previous. Once students better understand their own skills and interests, they spend their second year exploring their relationships with others. They will learn more about effective communication, interacting with people who hold different values and beliefs, and working together towards a common goal.
By junior year, Leadership Scholars are ready to put theory into practice through positions in SGA, the campus programming board, and other student organizations, or by serving as resident assistants and peer advisors. Senior year, they broaden their focus from personal development to cultivating equity, inclusion, and belonging in their community at UNC Asheville—and beyond.
Hollifield says the hope is that students graduate as confident, empowered leaders with the knowledge and experience to engage others and a deep understanding of who they are.
“It’s really difficult to be an effective leader if you don’t take the time for self-discovery and identity development,” she says. “You have to know who you are before you can translate your leadership outward to others in the community.”
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