BATON ROUGE – Assistant Director Ericka Lavender has been selected to represent the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes at LSU’s LEAD Emerge program.
It marks the second consecutive year that the ACSA has had a member of its staff selected for the prestigious program.
LEAD Emerge is LSU’s leadership development program for new supervisors, candidates for promotion to a supervisory position, and current supervisors desiring professional and personal development. The program focuses on building and enhancing leadership skills which support the University’s strategic objectives and flagship agenda.
“First, I would like to thank the selection committee for giving me this opportunity to improve my leadership skills and grow professionally in my career,” Lavender said. “I would also like to thank my co-workers and team members for believing in me to help me reach my professional goals. I am excited about the program and look forward to learning and working with other amazing professionals from the LSU campus community.”
Using self awareness as a catalyst for professional improvement, the program incorporates a combination of individual and group experiential exercises to further build participants’ competencies. Program participation provides a comprehensive view of their personal preferences and style. It exposes participants to new concepts regarding leadership and management.
“Speaking from my own experience, LEAD Emerge really helped me define who I was a leader and gave me the tools I needed to become a more effective in that role,” ACSA Associate Director Carole Walker said. “Ms. Lavender has taken on additional responsibilities since she first came to LSU which include supervising an academic coordinator as well as overseeing a few projects. She has done an outstanding job. As Ms. Lavender’s immediate supervisor, nominating her for this program was an easy decision. In working with her over the past two years, I have seen her growth in regards to leadership and feel that LEAD Emerge would only enhance those skills. I’m excited for her and can’t wait to see how much more she will grow professionally because of this experience.”