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College Campus

Ways To Emerge as a Leader on the College Campus (Part 3)

Originally published 8.12.09

by Jesse Muhammad

This is part 3 in a six-part series on Ways To Emerge as a Leader on the College Campus

I ended Part 2 by stating that by becoming actively involved in other organizations, I soon gained the confidence to start several of my own along with some friends.

Many of you may be wondering why and how.

Well all of us at Prairie View A&M University had our opinions of what activities could be most impactful and useful for the students. Some groups chose to party. My circle did not talk against them but instead we took the initiative to start our own.For example personally at that time I had become a registered member of the Nation of Islam so I desire to start a NOI Student Association. With the assistance of now Final Call Assistant Editor Ashahed Muhammad, I launched a PVAMU Chapter. He was the National NOISA Coordinator at that time and gave me all of the materials I needed to get the chapter officially recognized by the Campus Activities department.

Find out who oversees the Campus Activities Department at your school and establish a relationship. I noticed that other groups invited the director out to participate in some of their events, so I followed suit. Networking is important. Plus that paperwork can feel like applying for a job with the federal government, so you may need some extra guidance. Make sure you have everything in the package completed and turn it in on time. Do not procrastinate or you can lose a chance to be an officially recognized organization.

I then recruited many people to build membership.

In addition I joined forces with others to launch an investing club, a Black Male empowerment society, leadership clubs, and mentoring programs for local schools in Prairie View, Texas. Some, not all, got recognized on campus but we were able to make an impact.

You can too.

Part 4 I will discuss the importance of selecting a good sponsor of your organization because some may not be as supportive as you think. (smile)

July 14, 2015

Motivation Youth

Ways To Emerge as a Leader on the College Campus (Part 2): Should You Join That Organization?

written by AQM Blog Staff

Originally published 6.28.09

by Jesse Muhammad

In Part 1 of this series for college students, I spoke on five ways to emerge as a leader on your college campus. Read Part 1 here: http://budurl.com/collegeleaders1

In this part I want to talk on Step 1 and the key things to look for when deciding to join any organization.

Whether it is in your major, student government or a greek organization, become apart of something. While at Prairie View A&M I was being heavily recruited by many groups and for a brief moment I was considering several of them.

But before I made my decision I monitored their activities on the yard to see if they were in line with the type of things I wanted to do on and off campus in the community. After researching, I did not see most of them really making a strong effort to raise the consciousness of the students on campus. Now, that’s not to say that they were not doing anything at all but it seemed like partying was the primary focus.

In the Spring semester of my freshman year I got invited to a meeting held by N’COBRA (National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America). It was headed by the late legendary professor Dr. Obadele who would eventually become one of my mentors on campus for the rest of my college years and beyond. After attending a few meetings and participating in their activities I joined because I knew it was for me. Then I joined a Black Male empowerment society called Alkebulan which I would later help expand. Then I joined the National Society of Black Engineers because that was my in major.

Soon I started taking positions and supporting roles in these organizations by my sophomore year. Slowly my name starting spreading across campus. Note: It did help a little that my name was Jesse Jackson before I changed in officially in 2000 to Jesse Muhammad. (smile)

I attended as many events as I could and networked with my business cards. At that time I was hosting art exhibits every semester on campus so I started offering my drawing talents to other organizations such as Delta Sigma Theta, who had me every year to paint the backdrop for their Mr. Ten Pageant. I quickly gained friendships and started learning a lot of various organizing skills. I leverage my talent to become an honorary member of many groups without having to pay dues. What can you leverage?

Do your research on the organizations before you make the move to join because you don’t have time to waste.Â By becoming actively involved in other organizations, I soon gained the confidence to start several of my own along with some friends.Â How did we do it? You will read about that in Part 3.

(Follow Brother Jesse Muhammad on Twitter @BrotherJesse)

July 13, 2015

Motivation Youth

Ways To Emerge as a Leader on the College Campus (Part 1)

written by AQM Blog Staff

Originally published 6.9.09

By Jesse Muhammad

When I entered Prairie View A&M University in 1997 as a freshman to pursue a degree in electrical engineering, I had a desire to do more than just go to class every day but I wanted see how I could leave a greater mark on the campus and community.

This is not to say that class was not a priority because engineering is challenging and time consuming. But I wanted to have the total college experience. You can too!

When I recently spoke to the Black Student Union at St. Thomas University, I shared with them some ways to become a better leader (servant) on the yard.

Join Organizations: Whether it is an organization in your major, student government or a society, become apart of something. But don’t just join because of your peers, but see how that organization can add value to you and vice versa. Research and start attending their meetings. I was apart of nearly ten different ones!

Start Your Own Organization: With the assistance of now Final Call Assistant Editor Ashahed Muhammad, I launched a PVAMU Chapter for the Nation of Islam Student Association (NOISA). At the time Bro. Ashahed was the National NOISA Coordinator and gave me all of the materials I needed to get the chapter officially recognized by the campus activities department. I then recruited many people. In addition I joined forces with others to launch an investing club, a Black Male empowerment society, leadership clubs, and mentoring programs for local schools in Prairie View, Texas.

Get a Serious Sponsor: I noticed many organizations had sponsors who were not intricately involved in their activities and only using the group as a resume builder. I always chose revolutionary sponsors who would not only show up at our events but would push the concepts amongst their students and colleagues. They would also give out extra credit to their students for attending. Plus you can use your sponsor as leverage to open up certain doors plus secure financial backers. Be wise.

Host Events on Campus: A minimum of three times a month my circle on campus was hosting some type of event to raise the consciousness of the students. We hosted leadership forums, male/female relationships panels, health seminars and rallies for social justice issues. We invited special guest speakers from across the country. The most important part was collecting emails to follow up!

Write for the School Paper: A good way to reach the masses on campus is to become a contributor to the newspaper. You can write articles addressing certain issues affecting the student population. For example my first ever article was for the PV Panther News entitled “Will The Real Leaders Stand Up”. I was addressing a controversial student government election. That article drew a lot of attention to the NOISA and increased membership plus I became a “dorm-room” name.

In Part 2 of this series I will delve deeper into every one of these tips plus add more.

I was apart of a strong circle of up and coming leaders (servants) on campus that caused present Prairie View Mayor Frank Jackson to say to me once that, “You all were a very special group. I have not seen a group that has done so much since.”

July 13, 2015