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A Q&A with Matthew Thomas ’10, Director of Leadership, Mentorship, and Life Design Initiatives

Staff Council is proud to spotlight F&M departments and professional staff in Bell & Tower, a weekly newsletter for the faculty and professional staff of Franklin & Marshall College. We hope these spotlights will reveal some of the tremendous work being done by professional staff across campus, chip away at existing silos, and help you gain an understanding and appreciation of the varied ways in which your colleagues contribute to the mission of the College each day.   Do you want your department to be in the spotlight? We invite you to share stories and information about your teams via this form. Tell us about your role and how you support students at F&M. I’m thrilled to be back at my alma mater supporting students in the multiple areas covered by my role:  leadership, mentorship, and life design. My position allows me ample room to support F&M students in a variety of ways — from running leadership cohort groups on campus, such as the Harwood Leadership Seminar and the Diplomat Leadership Program, to stewarding some of F&M’s hallmark mentorship initiatives, like our True Blue Mentorship Program. In addition, I have the opportunity to lead a variety of trainings and workshops to support individual groups across campus — from helping club leadership intentionally transition from one year to the next to encouraging students as they build literacy in diverse areas of their lives, from career development and financial management to networking and articulating their own personal and professional stories. I’m excited to offer experiential learning opportunities that support students in being the best version of themselves. Why do you feel leadership, mentorship and life design is important to student success?  Success means different things to different people, but no matter the definition, it relies on students having the skills and confidence to chart their own paths in life. Giving students the knowledge that leadership is inclusive, values-based, and collaborative — and the space and guidance to explore what leadership means to them within and beyond these principles — offers them a head start in understanding who they are as leaders, community members, and individuals and how they will achieve their personal goals (or, put another way, design their own lives). Mentorship promotes this growth through individualized connections and support. I’m excited to work with our students as they build their own mentor “board of directors,” a diverse support network that makes it easier to navigate the complexities of our constantly changing world. What exactly does life design mean?  Life design is an extension of design thinking, which is a process used by designers and teams in various industries to intentionally create all manner of products and outcomes. In my role, I’m excited to help students connect with the resources they need to explore and chart meaningful, balanced, and fulfilling lives — from courses about financial literacy or etiquette to guidance for choosing an industry that feels personally fulfilling. Life design models can also provide students with tools for making difficult decisions in their lives. Moving from being told “you can do anything” while students are in high school and college, to choosing a defined something in a career or field after college can be a difficult transition. OSPGD and the larger F&M community are here to help students navigate these changes and exciting opportunities. What sort of programs and support can students expect this upcoming year? My career has focused on experiential and leadership education. I’ve taught in a range of settings up and down the East Coast and in the mountains of Colorado, and students will see our programming reflect that background. I’m looking forward to getting students outside and off-campus and connecting with the Lancaster community. We have some exciting plans for students this upcoming year — from community events in Lancaster to a Susquehanna Riverlands tour. I’m so looking forward to working with groups from across our campus and community, and my office door is always open! How do you feel F&M prepares students for success beyond F&M? As an alum, I call upon the skills and critical lens that I developed at F&M on an almost daily basis. In every class I took at the College, I was given the opportunity to develop personal relationships with not only my peers but also my professors — many of whom were the first colleagues I connected with upon returning to campus. It’s wonderful to now be supporting students with programming that compliments this academic power and to be joining a community full of individuals who are part of the same mission — fostering students of intellect, creativity, and character.
Wed, May 24, 2023

Staff Council is proud to spotlight F&M departments and professional staff in Bell & Tower, a weekly newsletter for the faculty and professional staff of Franklin & Marshall College. We hope these spotlights will reveal some of the tremendous work being done by professional staff across campus, chip away at existing silos, and help you gain an understanding and appreciation of the varied ways in which your colleagues contribute to the mission of the College each day.  

Do you want your department to be in the spotlight? We invite you to share stories and information about your teams via this form.

Tell us about your role and how you support students at F&M.

I’m thrilled to be back at my alma mater supporting students in the multiple areas covered by my role:  leadership, mentorship, and life design. My position allows me ample room to support F&M students in a variety of ways — from running leadership cohort groups on campus, such as the Harwood Leadership Seminar and the Diplomat Leadership Program, to stewarding some of F&M’s hallmark mentorship initiatives, like our True Blue Mentorship Program. In addition, I have the opportunity to lead a variety of trainings and workshops to support individual groups across campus — from helping club leadership intentionally transition from one year to the next to encouraging students as they build literacy in diverse areas of their lives, from career development and financial management to networking and articulating their own personal and professional stories. I’m excited to offer experiential learning opportunities that support students in being the best version of themselves. 

Why do you feel leadership, mentorship and life design is important to student success? 

Success means different things to different people, but no matter the definition, it relies on students having the skills and confidence to chart their own paths in life. Giving students the knowledge that leadership is inclusive, values-based, and collaborative — and the space and guidance to explore what leadership means to them within and beyond these principles — offers them a head start in understanding who they are as leaders, community members, and individuals and how they will achieve their personal goals (or, put another way, design their own lives). Mentorship promotes this growth through individualized connections and support. I’m excited to work with our students as they build their own mentor “board of directors,” a diverse support network that makes it easier to navigate the complexities of our constantly changing world. 

What exactly does life design mean? 

Life design is an extension of design thinking, which is a process used by designers and teams in various industries to intentionally create all manner of products and outcomes. In my role, I’m excited to help students connect with the resources they need to explore and chart meaningful, balanced, and fulfilling lives — from courses about financial literacy or etiquette to guidance for choosing an industry that feels personally fulfilling. Life design models can also provide students with tools for making difficult decisions in their lives. Moving from being told “you can do anything” while students are in high school and college, to choosing a defined something in a career or field after college can be a difficult transition. OSPGD and the larger F&M community are here to help students navigate these changes and exciting opportunities. 

What sort of programs and support can students expect this upcoming year?

My career has focused on experiential and leadership education. I’ve taught in a range of settings up and down the East Coast and in the mountains of Colorado, and students will see our programming reflect that background. I’m looking forward to getting students outside and off-campus and connecting with the Lancaster community. We have some exciting plans for students this upcoming year — from community events in Lancaster to a Susquehanna Riverlands tour. I’m so looking forward to working with groups from across our campus and community, and my office door is always open!

How do you feel F&M prepares students for success beyond F&M?

As an alum, I call upon the skills and critical lens that I developed at F&M on an almost daily basis. In every class I took at the College, I was given the opportunity to develop personal relationships with not only my peers but also my professors — many of whom were the first colleagues I connected with upon returning to campus. It’s wonderful to now be supporting students with programming that compliments this academic power and to be joining a community full of individuals who are part of the same mission — fostering students of intellect, creativity, and character.