Showcasing Texas Talent starts with a LEAP

By Kaitlyn Wells
Photos by Jessica Attie

Whispers flurry across the rows of seating below The University of Texas Tower. Some rave about past performances, while others ponder the night's expectations for an even better show; a show to prove that the possibility of getting soaked with rain and waiting out in the Texas heat is well worth what's to come.

Every year during a warm evening in April, thousands of students gather below the Tower at The University of Texas at Austin to enjoy some of the most entertaining dancers, singers and performers the campus has to offer. With more than 7,000 attendees and nearly two-dozen performing acts annually, Texas Revue is the largest student talent show in the state of Texas. "Texas Revue is an important tradition to the university because it's a part of student life," said Andrew Nash, a theatre and dance major in the College of Fine Arts and co-chair of Texas Revue. "Everyone gets that chance to have a good time."

In 2009, Texas Revue featured 14 acts including singing, cultural dances, musicals and a cappella performances. "Thousands of people turn out to enjoy the performances, but few look behind the curtain to appreciate the leadership skills, initiative, time and effort it takes to pull off a Texas-sized talent show while balancing a full academic course load," said Soncia Reagins-Lilly, Senior Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students. Nash said that one of the most difficult aspects of coordinating Texas Revue is organizing the acts. "The most difficult part is always the talent you're working with," said Nash. "Sometimes people can be really difficult."

Even though Nash played a prominent role in producing Texas Revue, he discovered that the performers weren't so quick to listen to his instructions. The acts were comprised of up to 35 people, each with their own group leaders, so it was often difficult to coordinate and communicate with the large numbers. Nash said, "I just kind of had to sit back and trust that everyone was going to do their part because I think that everyone that was there for the show had the same goal in mind, and that was to have a great performance and to draw thousands of students. Texas Revue is a good example of a group effort where a bunch of students have the same goal and come together for something bigger than themselves."

A yearlong commitment, Texas Revue begins recruiting committee members for the following year each May immediately after the event ends.Karina Singh, a management information systems and business honors program major in the McCombs School of Business, first became involved with Texas Revue by joining the Social Special Programs Committee her sophomore year. Singh was first drawn to Texas Revue after attending the show her freshman year. Singh considers the audition process to be most memorable. "Auditions were a grueling process, all day Saturday and all day Sunday for about eight or nine hours a day," remembers Singh. "Some of the acts were completely ridiculous and crazy, and some of them were amazing and blew your mind. Some of the acts ... There are a lot of people," said Singh. "It is going to come down to communication and managing people and it would require everyone to have an open line of communication."

To stage Texas Revue, committee members like Nash and Singh must learn to overcome the pressures of coordinating a large event. They credit their cool heads to the leadership experience they gained their first year at the university in the LEAP program.Leadership Education And Progress (LEAP), a program offered by the Leadership and Ethics Institute through the Office of the Dean of Students, is a leadership development program for first-year students, that provides an opportunity for new students to interact with student mentors through an eight-week leadership workshop series. Participants learn the theory and action behind a variety of leadership practices and principles including motivation, ethics and community service.

Nash recalls how LEAP workshops played a vital role in his co-chair position within Texas Revue. "It really came down to applying the skills we learned every week," he said. "We had a meeting about ethical decisions and spending money wisely ... So I was able to actually apply the skills that we learned [to Texas Revue]."

Singh emerged from the LEAP program in a different way. Instead of applying new leadership skills to Texas Revue, she experienced more inner growth that allowed her to cope with stressful situations. Now Singh enjoys taking on any challenge. "I like pushing myself into situations where I might not know what is going on all of the time," she said. "I think that is what LEAP has helped me try to realize about myself in general and realize that that's okay. It really stressed that everyone is different and that's part of college." Singh also believes that without LEAP, she wouldn't have been comfortable joining campus programs. "I think if I hadn't been in the LEAP program and introduced to people who I didn't know previously, and had to interact with complete strangers, I don't think I would have necessarily been comfortable doing that again and again and again," she said. "I think it's been beneficial and I think it's been an interesting experience being put with people who are just completely different than you."

In previous years, the LEAP program hosted the workshop series during the spring semester. In fall 2009, LEAP will begin hosting a leadership workshop series in both fall and spring semesters.Averaging 50 to 75 participants in the spring, LEAP expects to double its admissions with the addition of a fall program.

With its continual success, LEAP is a component of a new leadership initiative, The University of Texas at Austin Leadership and Ethics Institute (LEI).LEI is sponsored by Student Activities and Leadership Development (SALD), an area within the Office of the Dean of Students (DoS). "For many people leadership is an invisible set of skills, but leadership is fundamental to success and crosses all majors and disciplines," said Dean Lilly. "Students have the chance learn theory through the Leadership and Ethics Institute and apply it in a real-world setting.Organizing an event like Texas Revue helps students build the active social and managerial competence necessary to succeed in the workplace."

LEI is a centralized and comprehensive program focused on training both undergraduate and graduate students in leadership skills such as communication, time management, public speaking and conflict management.One of few leadership programs that The University of Texas at Austin offers to all students, LEI is designed to allow students to learn about themselves, to have an impact on campus life, and to serve the communities in which they live, study and work.

Kayla Ford, an LEI advisor, believes LEAP and other LEI programs benefit all who participate, no matter their prior experience. "You see people who come in who didn't have any leadership experience and this [LEI] was their experience," she said. "It's nice just to watch them grow in how they interact and how they communicate from the beginning of their time with us to how they communicate and lead when they graduate. I enjoy working with the students and helping them accomplish their leadership goals at the university."

LEAP is well established at the university with a 10-year reputation for nurturing tomorrow's leaders, like Nash.Rita Thornton, a graduate student majoring in educational administration through the College of Education also joined LEAP in 2005 as an undergraduate. In succeeding years, Thornton stayed on to become a student mentor and then joined the Coordination Team (currently LEAP Co-Chairs) her senior year to help implement the creation of LEI, in 2007-2008.

Along with her dedication to LEAP, Thornton was also involved in leadership as a Camp Texas counselor for three years.Camp Texas, another freshman-oriented leadership program at The University of Texas at Austin, provides students an opportunity to establish friendships and learn more about university traditions before enrolling their first year. Nash, was one of Thornton's campers his first year, and was encouraged by Thornton to join LEAP.

"I'm like a proud parent," jokes Thornton. "Andrew went through the LEAP program and really enjoyed it. I've seen him grow by doing Texas Revue and now being the SEC (Student Events Center) president."

As an LEI graduate assistant, Thornton is still passionate about the program.Having participated in LEAP, Thornton has many favorite memories of her time in the program. However, it is the workshop series, held weekly throughout the semester, which has made a lasting impression with Thornton. A topic she greatly enjoyed was entrepreneurship. "It (entrepreneurship) was one of my favorite topics that I vividly remember because the owner of Amy's Ice Cream came in and told her inspirational story of how she created it, and it was really motivating," she said. Thornton believes the workshop helped both her and her peers become more motivated to accomplish their academic goals at the university.

Even though Thornton attended similar presentations for the past few years, she is grateful for the opportunity to continually learn from the speakers. "What's neat about LEAP is you can hear talks multiple times...and there's always something little that you might not have gotten before that you get out of it," she said. "I've seen similar topics facilitated five times now and I still enjoy them, so we're doing something right."

Another skill set participants were taught included proper communication techniques. Professor John Daly in the Department of Communication Studies in the College of Communication is a recurring speaker for the LEAP workshop series. Thornton remembers Daly explaining the difference in greeting an individual with the phrase, "Nice to meet you" versus "Nice to see you." She said Daly recommended greeting all people with "Nice to see you." That way, you can ensure that an individual is not offended if you don't recognize someone you met in the past. "I think that one of the unique things about the LEAP workshop in general is the fact that your mentors and your first-year students are all sitting in the same workshop, so it's not just the first-year students that are getting information out of it," said Thornton. Nash agrees that LEAP has something to offer to everyone. "I've never met anyone who said they didn't benefit from this program," he said. "It's a step in the right direction."

The restructuring of LEAP as an LEI program has increased the opportunities for more students like Nash and Singh of Texas Revue. The addition of a fall program will allow LEI additional interactions with new students, thus enhancing the leadership on campus.

Ford and other advisors are passionate about promoting campus leadership. "I think it's important for everyone to have the option to choose the way they learn about leadership," said Ford. "It's not about a position; just because you are the president or you're not the president doesn't mean you are or are not a leader. Being a leader is something you can learn and you're constantly growing and learning. I think it's important for everyone to be a leader in their own way," said Ford. While Nash and Singh practice their leadership skills through Texas Revue, the talent show is only one of the more than 1,000 registered student organizations on campus-each one a laboratory in which to put leadership theory into practice. Ford said, "Find what you're passionate about and get involved. The earlier you get involved the better."