What is Pryor Leadership?

William Jewell College is a small liberal arts college in western Missouri, just northwest of Kansas City. It is one of the top liberal arts colleges in the region, and is known as "The Ivy League of the Midwest." A small, Christian school, William Jewell sits a top a hill in Liberty, Missouri, a town with a rich history, named after a Civil War doctor who two centuries ago housed wounded Union soldiers in what is now one of the college's main hall's. I was recruited to play soccer there by a coach from St. Louis, aware that most St. Louisians are unaware of William Jewell's existence. Deciding to go to Jewell was the best decision of my life. Deciding to stay there was even more important. Early in my freshmen year, I recieved a letter from the Pryor Leadership Studies Program. I had not heard of this program and deciding not to throw the letter away has proved to be yet another crucial decision. I opened the letter and learned that I had been nominated by my soccer coach to be a member in this program. I learned that the nomination was only the beginning of the process, and that I must act soon, by filling out an extensive application and preparing for an interview. Pryor Leadership is a three year program (really four if you count the nomination process.) It includes both course work and experiential learning. I decided to apply for it, and after the interview I was pleased to learn that I had been accepted. Part of the program is Outward Bound, a twenty one day trip into southern Florida. The first seventeen days are spent traveling by canoe from the southern most tip of the Everglades to the northern most point, a 99 mile excursion through swamps, rivers, streams, the Gulf of Mexico, a lost portage, bays, and other bodies of water. Following this excursion is a two day high ropes course and a two day service project at a school for the children of migrant workers in southern Florida. The trip changed my life by enlightening me to my own abilities and strengths. What I once thought impossible was shown to be possible, what I once thought to be uncomfortable was shown to be tolerable. I believe that this experience played a major role in my development.