Brianna Villatoro
reporter
The Trailblazer Leadership Academy, hosted by TR Campus, has provided weekly leadership lessons for students on all TCC campuses since last summer.
The sessions are led by different speakers. Each goes over a different topic, such as diversity, digital literacy and crucial conversations.
Students can attend any session virtually, without having to register.
“The program became a community,” TR student activities coordinator Kelsey Bratcher said. “We look forward to connecting each week. Names and voices became familiar. Even though many of the students I have never met in person, I feel like we know each other since they were regular attendees.”
The program also aids students on self-improvement and reflection through conversations on leadership.
“It really made the sessions more personalized and relatable because if it was just a regular old session, it wouldn’t be nearly as impactful as it was,” student Andrew Mwenduti said.
Bratcher said a variety of featured speakers have taken part.
“For spring 2021, the coordinators of student activities from across the district decided to increase collaborations,” he said. “We worked together to continue Trailblazer Leadership Academy. We had speakers from TCC, Disney Entertainment, Texas A&M University-San Antonio and UNT Dallas.”
Students go through three levels of completion: bronze, silver and gold. Bronze is six to seven sessions attended, silver is eight to nine sessions and gold is 10 or more. They receive a certificate and T-shirt for all the sessions attended at the end of the program.
Trailblazer attendee Valerie Vallejo said her experience helped her expand her vision.
“From the Trailblazer Leadership Academy, I learned how to grow as a person in this environment, and all the resources that are available to students,” Vallejo said.
Students can find information and a list of topics and speakers on the TCC Student Leadership website.
