At the opening of Saint Augustine's University's (SAU) [Raleigh, NC] Fall 2014 academic year there were 40 young men from across the State of North Carolina that are ready to enhance their leadership skills. These young leaders of the future participated in the George Williams Leadership Academy sponsored by Duke Energy. The academy was designed to engage young men in various leadership activities and provide a foundation of leadership strategies for being successful inside and outside the classroom. During the three-week residential academy, young scholars attended workshops and seminars on problem solving, how to be successful in the classroom, reading enrichment activities, life-coaching activities, and financial counseling and literacy.
The academy Director and his team selected “Fulfilling My Destiny, Step By Step,” the new memoir of SAU graduate and book's author Robert L. Shepard, PhD, as the book to read for the academy participants. The author was on campus to interact with the participants as part of their orientation to show that no matter where their journey began they can find their purpose and their passion while at SAU and become contributors to the global community. Prior to the author's arrival on campus, the participants, along with the six counselors had read the book, and collectively had over 90 questions relating to the author's journey. The last part of the interactive session was devoted to the author autographing participants’ books.
The activity was part of SAU's First-Year Experience Program.