Those who work and study in the iSchool know that Hinds Hall is filled with leaders in the information field, with its world renowned faculty members and its bright and ambitious students. But on September 11, the halls of Hinds buzzed more than usual with talk of leadership as approximately 60 students competed for 30 slots in the iSchool’s Leadership Program.

Sponsored by the Black and Latino Information Studies Support (BLISTS) student group, the Leadership Program is 10 week-long training program for iSchool students to develop their confidence and their communications, negotiation, team building, and conflict resolution skills.

On September 11, student applicants participated in a number of games and activities that test students’ ability to work with each other and solve problems creatively. Teams of students scattered throughout the building working on such tasks as flipping over a “magic carpet” (shower curtain) while all team members are standing on it, prioritizing a list of 12 survival items by consensus, and turning a bunch of random objects into a new product and marketing that product.


“These exercises are intended to get an idea of the students’ current leadership skills,” said BLISTS Faculty Advisor and iSchool Associate Professor Martha Garcia-Murillo. “The success of the program, in my opinion, is closely related to the success of the students, so I want to work with students who already show initiative, commitment, and motivation.”

Garcia-Murillo and a team of seven students selected the leadership fellows based on their performance in these team-building activities as well as on their application and a leadership assessment test they take.


The following students were selected to participate in this year’s program: Felipe Martinez, Katherine Urena, Rafiluis J. De Los Santos, Jay Sumresh Bhansali, Paridhi Nadarajan, Sergio Hinestrosa, Don Holness, Johanna Olivares, Patrick Plebo, Anthony Ortiz, Cortland Bradford, Andrew Taitt, Jonathan Sanchez, Jaisa Dominguez, Elmer Mascarenhas, Abhijeet Bhanoori, Shruti Worlikar, Deepak Atreya, Jaime Suarez, Laura Cawley, Ashley Schofield, Leead Vangruber, Yu Gao, Juliana Mends, Jasy Liew Suet Yan, Nicole Dittrich, Deborah Spector, Rohan Kamat , and Endri Mataj.

“The leadership fellows learn and practice a variety of skills that they bring to their future endeavors,” Garcia-Murillo said. “They get a certificate for their participation and can list the program on their resume. I know it has helped them obtain jobs. My main objective with this program is to help students succeed personally and professionally.”