The ideal CLA Fellow Candidate is a student that is highly motivated and eager to be involved. The criteria include high academic achievement, active involvement in the campus community, dedication to the public good, a passion to lead, and a commitment to personal growth. However, we are also looking for those students who may not be actively engaged in leadership activities, but feel they would greatly benefit from intentional development opportunities in order to expand & build confidence in their capabilities. 

Yes! After being nominated, you must still complete an application to the Peter C. Cook Leadership Academy in order to show your interest in joining. To learn more about what happens after you apply, please see the next question.

After applying to be a part of the Peter C. Cook Leadership Academy (CLA), you will receive an email confirmation letting you know that we have received your application! We will continue accepting applications through Friday, February 23rd, 2024. After applications have closed, we will begin to review all CLA applications. Applicants will be invited to interview throughout the month of March. After interviews are completed, selections will be made in early April, and acceptance emails will be sent out the week of Monday, April 8th, 2024.

While in the Peter C. Cook Leadership Academy (CLA), all CLA Fellow Candidates will have a myriad of required and optional events and resources made accessible to them.

These events include, per semester:

• Three Wheelhouse Talks, which are 1-hour speaker events with a reception following, typically on Friday late afternoons
• Three Self Reflection Workshops and one Leader Lab, which are 3-hour workshops on Friday afternoons
• In addition to many other Hauenstein Center and Common Ground Initiative events.

The Peter C. Cook Leadership Academy seeks to find innovative ways to support our Fellow Candidates’ leadership development. Other resources & programming to support this include:

• CLA Fellow Candidates are each paired with a mentor from the community in order to expand upon leadership skills and build further connections. Mentor meetings take place one a month (October-March).
• CLA Fellow Candidates are put into Small Groups in order to build deeper connections throughout the cohort and engage in interactive & reflective content with their Small Group. 
• Access to apply for Independent Initiatives. Independent Initiatives are one of the ways the CLA can financially support fellow candidates in pursuing exceptional and life changing opportunities. Qualifying opportunities include conferences/conference presentations, work groups, study away, study abroad, projects/initiatives, and any experience that will help further the fellow candidate's growth and development as a leader in a fundamental way. 

If you know of an excellent student who you think should apply, or you believe should consider re-applying for acceptance into the CLA, you can nominate them! Nominations for the 2024-2025 cohort open on Wednesday, November 8th. To make nominations and learn about who the ideal CLA student is, please go to www.gvsu.edu/hc/nominate.