Benedictine hosted the Air Force ROTC program’s Leadership Lab (LLAB)for the first time Nov. 9.
LLAB is usually located at the University of Kansas (KU), the host school for Detachment 280.
The cadets collaborated to brainstorm with no objectives and free reign on the schedule. The first thing they thought of was to involve the monks.
The cadets prepared to have Fr. Jay Kythe, OSB and Br. Leaven Harton, OSB give talks on their experience with servant leadership.
After the talk, the cadets executed a land navigation exercise where they were required to work in teams to move around campus to different waypoints and complete Group Leadership Projects (GLP).
Olivia Palena, an Air Force Cadet Second Lieutenant who organized Saturday’s LLAB, hoped that the land navigation exercise would prove to be a challenge to the KU students who are unfamiliar with the campus.
“I think a lot of KU cadets will be looking up to the BC kids because they know where things are,” Palena said.
Benedictine accounts for about 20 of the 100+ cadets in Detachment 280, which is comprised of 11 area colleges.
Palena said KU allowed Benedictine to host the event as a cross-town school is a big honor because it shows Benedictine has proved to be a significant contributor to the detachment. Also, it allows the cadets to experience a new environment and help the cadets from Benedictine feel more integrated with the program.
“We’ve all been deciding that this is an important event because it’s going to speak a lot about Benedictine,” said Palena. “If it goes well, it could become a tradition.”
In addition to LLAB, cadets also participate in Air and Space Studies classes and Physical Training (PT) as part of the ROTC program.
