The Ohio Fellows is a Sinclair student organization, built around the idea of servant leadership and applying it to the student’s professional and personal life. Adviser Thomas Roberts said initially there were three schools in Ohio that had the Ohio Fellows organization, which were Bowling Green, Ohio University and Sinclair Community College. Thirty-five years later, Sinclair is the only college that still has an active Ohio Fellows organization.
“I was introduced to the various leadership skills – which the one that I really value and we tend to most learn about is servant leadership,” Brandon Whitehorn said.
Roberts said a servant leader is someone who puts other people’s needs ahead of their own. It is a new way of thinking that addresses the needs of the people and community that a person is serving.
To become part of Ohio Fellows, students must complete an application, successfully interview with the advisory board, and eventually, once in the program, complete an autobiography and growth contract. Roberts said the growth contract is a personal strategic plan to help develop a strategy for a student to complete his/her goals.
“To become a part of the Ohio Fellows you have to actually develop a life goal,” Shaun Campbell said. “Ohio Fellows actually wants you to find a mentor, on and off campus, that aligns with the goals. That to me is very valuable.”
Roberts said that although there are no scholarships available for being a member of Ohio Fellows, there are great things that are learned. During the school year the members will discuss and develop “soft skills that can be applied to the classroom, employment and leadership.”
At the end of the school year in June, Roberts said that there is an annual trip to Washington, D.C. for the students at no cost. They will experience service and leadership in the community, he said.
“We would have these great talks for hours,” Whitehorn said referring to the D.C. trip. “It’s funny, because we all have the same values, we pretty much share the same common goals, what we like to do here at Sinclair.”
To pick up an application or to find out more information on the Ohio Fellows organization, visit their office located in Building 8 Room 025.