Leadership Bridge Trips
Leadership Bridge Event - 2020
Learning from our Leaders at the State House -2019
On Feb 5th 2019, A select handful of college students from Clemson, Greenville Tech, Furman, Midlands Tech, Columbia College, The Citadel and College of Charleston all met in Columbia for a day of Leadership. First they toured the Governors Mansion followed by lunch at the Palmetto Club where they got the opportunity to meet and interact with Senator Sheheen and Representative Collins and Representative Caskey. After lunch the group toured the State house where they were also introduced on the balcony of the Senate floor by Senator Alexander. After watching the Senate in Action the group finished the day by seeing Secretary of State Mark Hammond at his office.
We thank our students for coming along and having a wonderful trip with us and the leaders for taking the time out of their day for meeting with us and sharing their knowledge and information with us!
Leadership Bridge Trip -2018
Students from the Upstate and Midlands attended Atlantic Institute's Leadership Bridge Program at the State House in Columbia.
We had a great group that met with Representative Caskey, Senator Alexander, Dr Aaron Simmons from Furman University and Secretary of State Mark Hammond. We were able to be introduced on the House Floor and tour the State House and it's grounds. We were also able to tour the Museum of Art and enjoy a wonderful Turkish lunch.
Leadership Bridge Trip -2017
February 8th, 2017. Columbia, South Carolina – We are happy to announce another successful Leadership Bridge trip. Every year we take students from around the state to Columbia, SC. There they see the beautiful State House and make connections. Opportunities for internships and future jobs abound in this environment.
Our diverse cast of students also comes from all over the world. Mexico, Germany, and of course North America are all places the group originated from. Perhaps more than any other event this trip shows our commitment to diversity.
As with all our events it was also highly educational. Students learned the history of the area and architecture. They also took away practical information on becoming a Senator or other official. Several of our hosts even offered internships and other connections to the students.
Our illustrious guides and speakers included:
• Mayor Steve Benjamin
• Dr. Robert Cox
• Secretary of State Mark Hammond
• West Columbia Representative Micah Caskey
We want to thank each one of these people personally;
• Mayor Steve Benjamin gave us some great information. He also offered to introduce students to influential decision-makers.
• Dr. Robert Cox gave an interesting speech on Globalism. He encouraged young people to learn a new language. Thinking globally is the only way to succeed today.
• Secretary of State Mark Hammond explained what his office does. He gave the students a fresh and deep insight into the world of politics.
• Representative Micah Caskey taught the students about running for office. He detailed his work and how they can run in the future. He also offered to introduce students to influential decision-makers.
Between these meetings, the students learned about the deep history of this area. There was also time for enjoyment during an excellent lunch at the Palmetto Club. The food was delicious and Dr. Robert Cox spoke immediately after.
Everyone learned some valuable information on our political process. We also hope that this trip will lead to great jobs for the students in the future. It was a valuable day for everyone involved and we cannot wait until the next trip.
Leadership Bridge Trip -2016
On February 3rd 2016, the Atlantic Institute of SC hosted student and professor leaders at the state's capital from the following colleges: USC Upstate, Greenville Tech, North Greenville University, Clemson, Columbia College, Citadel, Allen University, College of Charleston, USC, Spartanburg Community College, St. Josephs Catholic School.
We toured the State House, met with Senator Alexander and Lt. Governor, Henry McMaster and then attended a dinner at the Capital City Club moderated Akif Aydin. The theme was on Leadership with a panel discussion with Representative J. Todd Rutherford, Representative Neal Collins, Kathryn Hix from Greenville Tech and Alexandra Tamura from St. Joseph's Catholic School.
The day started out with everyone meeting at the West Columbia center for lunch and then proceeding to the State House where they learned the history and significance of the capital being in Columbia, was presented to the Senate floor by Senator Alexander. Then met with Senator Alexander and Lt. Governor, Henry McMaster who talked about the importance of leaders today and in the future.
After a short "free time" trip to the State Museum everyone proceeded to the Capital City Club for the Leadership Bridge dinner. Other influential leaders from the Capital met with them there and all had dinner together. Following the dinner we enjoyed listening to the panel of Today's and Tomorrow's Leaders answer the following questions provided by Akif Aydin: What capabilities should one cultivate to prepare for a possible future leadership role? What is one characteristic that you believe every leader should possess? Which leaders influenced you in your life? and how? What is meant by the statement "leadership is everyone's business"?
The students that attended are leaders at each of their Colleges and our hope is that they bring back something that they learned from the day and are able to share it with others as well as incorporate some of their gained knowledge in their everyday life.
Dear Christina and Paula,
I just wanted to let you know and ask you to pass on to anyone else what a great experience the Leadership Bridge Dinner was for my students. Christian, Kevondrea, and Alexandra were so impressed by the reception that received from legislators and other adults they met. They felt the entire program was an incredible experience and it made a deep impression on them. Thanks for providing this outstanding experience for my students.
Thank you again!
Future Leaders Dialogue Dinner -2015
On February 3rd 2015, the Atlantic Institute of SC hosted student and professor leaders at the state's capital from the following colleges: USC Upstate, Wofford, NGU, Converse, Anderson, Clemson, Greenville Tec, Furman, USC, Benedict, Morris, The Citadel, and Allen University
We toured the State House, met with Senator Alexander and Secretary of State Mark Hammond and then attended a dinner at the Capital City Club moderated by Dr Gene Luna. The theme was on Leadership with a panel discussion with Senator Katrina Shealy, Senator Vincent Sheheen, and two students Laura Kate Gamble, a recent graduate from Wofford and Grant Fleming with USC
The day started out at the State House where they learned of the history and significance of the capital being in Columbia, toured the Senate floor and the House of Representatives floor and were able to ask Senator Alexander and Secretary of State Mark Hammond their questions and present them with small tokens of appreciation from all of their schools.
After a short "free time" trip to the State Museum everyone proceeded to the Capital City Club for the Leadership Bridge dinner. Other influential leaders from the Capital met with them there and all had dinner together. Following the dinner we enjoyed listening to the panel of Today's and Tomorrow's Leaders answer the following questions provided by Dr Luna: What capabilities should one cultivate to prepare for a possible future leadership role? What is one characteristic that you believe every leader should possess? Which leaders influenced you in your life? and how? What is meant by the statement "leadership is everyone's business"?
Most memorable were the conversations from the panelists such as: Grant sharing about his breakthrough in leadership at the Military camp he volunteered for, Senator Katrina Shealy about her stories of her childhood and that she leads because she was elected to lead not elected to think about leading with the purpose of being re-elected...Senator Sheheen's stories about his Lebanese immigrant grandparents working so hard when they came to this country and Laura Kate Gambles experiences when traveling through Tanzania, Haiti, etc.
The students that attended are leaders at each of their Colleges and our hope is that they bring back something that they learned from the day and are able to share it with others as well as incorporate some of their gained knowledge in their everyday life.
Spartanburg Future Leaders Dialogue Dinner -2014
Converse College, Wofford College and USC Upstate students and faculty gathered together at Converse College on November 13th for their Second Annual Future Leaders of Dialogue Dinner. The Theme "Kindness without Borders: Open Eyes, Open Hearts in Our Global Village was the theme for the discussion on this evening.
All of the students and faculty discussed preset questions for the evening that encouraged dialogue around the topic. The two Guest Speakers, Students Laura Kate Gamble from Wofford and Mary Roylston from Converse, spoke about their experiences traveling abroad working with other foundations and living immersed in other cultures and helped open the eyes of the students in attendance.
One of the student attendees said:"I really enjoyed it, and it definitely opened my eyes to things I have not really thought about "
Congratulations to the student winners that will be accompanying us to the Capital on Feb. 3rd:
Monique Gardner USC Upstate, Maddy Morris Converse College, Punam Mulji Wofford College, Johnathan Black USC Upstate, B. Alejandra Flores USC Upstate, Mr Jaime Jahuey USC Upstate
Thank you very much to our wonderful sponsors for supporting this event:
USC Upstate - College of Arts and Sciences, USC Upstate - The Scholars Academy, Wofford College - Office of the Chaplain, Converse College Chaplain's Office, USC Upstate - International Studies, Converse Interfaith Council
Greenville FLDD, 2014
What a powerhouse of speakers that were at the Future Leaders of Dialogue Dinner held at Younts Conference Center at Furman University. Wendy Walden from Greenville Technical Colleges Spoke about Kindness...Dr H. Paul Thompson spoke about Borders and Dr Tim Wardle spoke about both of these things on the Global Aspect dealing when he and his wife lived abroad in Israel.
Students from these three colleges intermingled over dinner and discussion to learn about each other dialogue on the evenings subject of "Kindness without Borders: Open Eyes Open Hearts in Our Global Village" We also heard from Emilia Urban from Clemson University on her experiences traveling inside Turkey last summer and encouraging all the students to enter this years Future Leaders Project Contest.
We'd like to congratulate those students that won their trip to Columbia on Feb 3rd:
Hannah Jones Greenville Tech, Rachel Andrews Greenville Tech, Grant Schricker NGU, Rudo Sibande NGU, Jocelyn Boulware Furman
Lastly, we'd like to thank our Sponsors for making this event possible:
Furman - Religion Department, Furman - Philosophy Department, Greenville Tech Honors Program, Greenville Tech ESL Program, NGU- History Department
Clemson FLDD, 2014
What a great dialogue dinner! Atlantic Institute has organized its Annual Future Leaders Dialogue Dinner of Clemson on November 11th at Southern Wesleyan University. We were very fortunate to be able to spend an evening gaining a little insight into other cultures and having some great discussion about what it means to have kindness without borders. Thank you again to our speakers, Caroline Hudson, Emilia Urban, and Colby Cash for sharing their experiences and giving us a look into life in the Ukraine, Turkey, and Haiti.
Discussion continued throughout the dinner. Some of the topics discussed at the tables are "What is your culture's one thing you want to share with others?", and "What would you do ,if you were young, to share your culture with others and see others'?" After the panel discussion , each moderator from every table expresses their table's ideas to increase dialogue among different people. Maybe the most interesting answer for the second question was "Go!, Just Go!"
Students were seemed to excited to go to SC Senate House, a part of the Future Leaders Dialogue Dinners, after watching short video of the Senate House Trip from last year.
Lucky ones among our guests to attend this year trip were chosen by ruffle and they are Janay Crosland, Assatta Herbert and Chad Smith from Clemson University, Nina Ivankovic and Devan Fisher from Anderson University.
Atlantic Institute will cover the lunch and transportation to the House and scheduled day is February 3rd, 2015.
Finally here again we would like to thank for our sponsors for all their support. Thank you!
Anderson University, College of Art & Sciences, Clemson University, Chief Diversity Office, Clemson University, Creative Inquiry program, Clemson University, College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities, Clemson University, College of Health, Education and Human Development, Clemson University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Clemson University, John E. Walker Department of Economics, Clemson, University, Gantt Center, Southern Wesleyan University, School of Education & School of Business
If you missed out on this dinner, don't worry. Look on our website for upcoming locations and dates of future dialogue dinners!
Columbia, FLDD, 2014
What a great dialogue dinner it was! Students and faculties from Allen University, Columbia College, University of South Carolina, Benedict College, and Morris College gathered together at Inn at USC Wyndham on November 18th for the Annual Future Leaders of Dialogue Dinner. The Theme "Kindness without Borders: Open Eyes, Open Hearts in Our Global Village" was the theme for the discussion on this evening. We were very fortunate to be able to spend an evening gaining a little insight into other cultures and having some great discussion about what it means to have kindness without borders. Thank you again to our speaker Dr. Breanne Grace.
Lucky ones among our guests that won this years trip to Columbia were chosen by raffle and they are Katherine Brenning, Brandon Byrd, Patrick Outler, Shyyon Lari and Mohammed Abdi. Atlantic Institute will cover the lunch and transportation to the House on the scheduled day of February 3rd, 2015.
We give special thanks to all of the sponsoring departments for making this program possible.
The dinner was sponsored by:
Allen University, Division of HumanitiesBenedict College | Transportation Engineering and Logistic Studies | Columbia College Communication Studies,Religious, Ethical, , and Cultural Studies, Behavioral Studies and Human Inquiry | Morris College, Morris College Leadership Program | University of South Carolina, Walker Institute, School of Library and Information Science, Department of Political Science, The South Carolina Honors College, Anthropology and African American Studies,
We would also like to thank our committee members: Dr. Robert Cox, Dr. Jason Munsell, Dr. Doris Gilliam, David M. Aurich, and Dr. Flavia Eldemire.
Charleston, FLDD, 2014
The Atlantic Institute held its annual Future Leaders Dialogue Dinner at the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture at College of Charleston on November 19th. We were very fortunate to be able to spend an evening gaining a little insight into other cultures and having some great discussion about what it means to have kindness without borders. Thank you again to our speaker Dr. Antonio D. Tillis for sharing his his experience of the theme "Kindness without Borders: Open Eyes, Open Hearts in Our Global Village” and how it related to his life and travels.
Lucky ones among our guests that won this years trip to Columbia were chosen by raffle and they are Donald Clark, Lori Pimental, Elizabeth Ordway, Ryan McGivern and Caroline West. Atlantic Institute will cover the lunch and transportation to the House on the scheduled day of February 3rd, 2015.
We give special thanks to all of the sponsoring departments for making this program possible.
The dinner was sponsored by:
College of Charleston, School of Arts, School of Education, Health and Human Performance, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs, Multicultural Student Center | Citadel, Department of Political Science, School of Humanities and Social Sciences | MUSC, Center for Global Health
We would also like to thank our committee members: Michael Haga, Don Belk and Dr. Scott Segrest.