Ranger School students gather around a fire pit that was constructed on campus as part of the Leadership and Organizational Performance course taught by Greg Vaverchak.
At The Ranger School it’s not all about what you get out of your education, but what you can give back.
As part of the Leadership and Organizational Performance course, students work on legacy projects – improvements to campus that will be there for years to come.
“It gets students to focus on how they will be remembered and encourages them to make a small improvement to campus,” said Dr. Michael Bridgen, Ranger School director.
Students in both the forest technology and the land surveying programs take the class taught by Greg Vaverchak.
“It’s common for Ranger School students to quickly work into leadership roles out in the field,” said Vaverchak, an assistant professor. The class is designed to teach them some of the leadership skills they will need. “The leadership class exposes them to what they might have to deal with on the job once they get out of here.”
The legacy project is just one component of the class. The course includes 22 hours of lecture and 24 hours of laboratory time. Students learn about company and agency organization; managing crews; and human relations in the workplace, emphasizing personnel problems unique to the forest and surveying industries.
Beyond the classroom, students form close bonds during their time at the Ranger School. “Every year we get a new batch of students,” said Vaverchak, “and it’s a tight-knit group here. They always want to leave their mark and do something for the school.”
“It’s common for Ranger School students to quickly work into leadership roles out in the field,” – Greg Vaverchak, assistant professor at the Ranger School
The legacy projects provide that opportunity along with a solid leadership exercise, said Vaverchak. He lets the students take the lead on the projects. They develop proposals and try to complete one or two projects, depending on the size and scope of the work, Vaverchak said. “It’s a good team effort,” he said, “I put a lot of planning on them: materials, tools, who’s doing what — that sort of thing.”
Past Ranger School classes had contributed improvement projects to campus, but didn’t always have the time to complete the projects. “By integrating the project into class, it has given the students the resources, both time and otherwise, to accomplish their goals, said Vaverchak.
“Several nice additions to the campus have been created by the students,” said Bridgen.
Projects include a new fire pit overlooking the Oswegatchie River, including benches and a wood box, and several picnic tables placed on campus. Students also created a new entrance to the Arboretum, removing some unattractive trees, installing a sign and some flowering ornamentals.
Vaverchak doesn’t know what’s in store for the spring semester’s leadership class. “They’ll discuss it and make it happen,” he said. “I like to make it open and flexible.” The class will also work with the student government at The Ranger School to ensure the projects are aligned with what the student body wants.
“As a class they can come back to reunion and see that what they did is still there,” said Vaverchak.
