Christine McCall (Chicago, Il) is currently a graduate student at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service pursing a master's degree in public service. For her summer International Public Service Project (IPSP), she is working at Wesley College in Mwanza, Tanzania to create a servant leadership training manual. A graduate of Boston University with a degree in journalism, McCall previously worked as a reporter for The Boston Globe, Bay State Banner, and The Newport Daily News. McCall also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kyrgyzstan and as an AmeriCorps VISTA in Boston. Her areas of public service interest include women's empowerment, higher education, and access to health care.

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From the day I met and interviewed Erick Omondi Okoth for The Newport Daily News ten years ago, I have been dreaming of traveling to Africa. That man and his story changed my life that day and this summer I was finally able to make that dream come true by choosing to come to Tanzania for my IPSP. As you'll see from the blog posts, videos, and photos, Wesley College is a special place that has touched my heart. 

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As written on Wesley College’s website, the mission of the institution is to prepare students with academic excellence, using holistic formation, and a spiritual and intellectual balance in order to produce effective, concerned servants for the community. I believe in the mission of Wesley College and in fact it resembles what we here at the Clinton School are doing. To be a part of this organization’s growth for a summer and to interact with locals that want to make a difference in their community was a good fit for me from the beginning. 

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The servant leadership training manual will serve as the first stage in developing a more comprehensive servant leadership curriculum at Wesley College which will include three stages of leadership training - personal leadership/servant leadership, leading others/transformational leadership, and leading leaders/change leadership. The training manual will address basic leadership training, practical exercises, and biblical principles and views of Tanzania's first President Julius Nyerere and his views on leadership and service. 

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Wesley College Principal Eric Soard said, "The first stage is really learning how to lead and manage yourself. And that means waking up in the morning and have a vision for where you are going, being able to set goals for yourself, being self-disciplined, knowing how to manage your time, and knowing what your values are and how to stand up for them."

 

Best practices research was conducted early on in the summer to gain an understanding of servant leadership. Following the research, I did interviews with faculty and students focusing on their baseline knowledge of leadership and what it really means to be a leader. Surveys were also disseminated to faculty and students to reach a larger audience and better understand where individuals are at in terms of their leadership development. 

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Thank you to all of the Wesley College students, faculty, and staff who made this project run smoothly. I appreciate your cooperation and support throughout this summer.

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