{"id":111782,"date":"2020-11-24T10:56:09","date_gmt":"2020-11-24T16:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thechicagoschool.edu\/insight\/?p=111782"},"modified":"2026-01-13T12:27:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T18:27:39","slug":"leadership-through-a-social-justice-lens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thechicagoschool.edu\/insight\/for-our-wellness\/leadership-through-a-social-justice-lens\/","title":{"rendered":"Leadership through a social justice lens"},"content":{"rendered":"

The need for better leaders!<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Dr. Martin Luther King once said \u201cNo work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Group
Students in Action<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many Chicago School<\/a> community members are passionate about the University\u2019s mission. It is to provide a high quality education by integrating theory, professional practice, and innovation.\u00a0 So, The Social Justice Leadership Academy (SJLA)<\/a> was started with this very principle in mind. SJLA is an opportunity for The Chicago School students to learn and develop social justice. They develop leadership skills while augmenting what they learn in classrooms.<\/p>\n

\"Group
Students in Community<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SJLA is the product of a collaborative effort between Chicago Campus<\/a> department Community Partnerships<\/a>, Student Support Services<\/a>, and what is now the Diversity Center. Jill Glen, Executive Director of Community Partnerships, spearheads the initiative. Emily Hilleren, Assistant Director of Student and Academic Support Services, who co-facilitates. This year SJLA has been introduced to the SoCal Campuses. Dr. Nadia Jones, Associate Director of Community Partnerships, SoCal Campus<\/a> says, \u201cWe find that students have so much passion for serving and for engaging in social justice issues”. “So this is the perfect way to honor them and recognize them for doing so.\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

What is SJLA?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

SJLA is a 12 credit co-curricular program. The students can earn credits by participating in a variety of activities both on the campus as well as in the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese activities could be as simple. Such as watching a movie, volunteering or just voting.\u201d explains Jill. \u201cThe idea is to allow students to go outside of their academic settings.\u00a0 So exposure promotes an awareness about the society. And a desire to change it for the better. Students are not left on their own in this endeavor.\u00a0 They can collaborate with an expert mentor to gain direction and guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"people
Student Mohammed Akhtar at event<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Emily feels, \u201cMentoring for SJLA is such a rewarding way to connect with students.\u00a0 Therefore, we get a closer view of the difference they make in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Student Mohammed Akhtar, feels the same. \u201cI got the opportunity to work and learn from Jill Glenn, Dr. Margie Martyn, Dr. Gregory Benson-Florez and other professionals from different walks of life. So this is by far the most rewarding part about this experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why SJLA?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Student
Student Mohammed Akhtar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SJLA is aimed at creating leaders who are well rounded in professional practice and diversity. Students are able to enhance their leadership skills.\u00a0 So they challenge their understanding of the social construct behavioral and ethical practices.\u00a0 They learn to develop anti-oppressive alternatives to traditional methods. Through the SJLA initiative, Mohammed was able to work with the Chicago Campus Dean, Dr. Margie Martyn. He worked on the launch of the campus\u2019s first-ever Bachelor\u2019s Degree Program.\u00a0 There he specifically advocating for students in need.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese SJLA experiences confirmed my purpose and why I joined the field of psychology.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The need for better leaders! Dr. Martin Luther King once said \u201cNo work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.\u201d Many Chicago School community members are passionate about the University\u2019s mission. It is to provide a high quality education by integrating theory, professional practice, and innovation.\u00a0 So, The Social Justice Leadership Academy (SJLA) was started with this very principle in mind. SJLA is an opportunity for The Chicago School […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":111793,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[704],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1090],"class_list":["post-111782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-our-wellness"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLeadership through a social justice lens - Insight Digital Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover how leadership, psychology, and social justice intersect to create lasting impact in communities.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thechicagoschool.edu\/insight\/for-our-wellness\/leadership-through-a-social-justice-lens\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leadership through a social justice lens - 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