Spring Break
Second Leadership Luncheon features John Cooke
Loren McFalls
Issue date: 2/20/09 Section: News
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Cooke provided the audience with an acrostic mnemonic device of L.I.F.E. as his presentation.
For "L" he chose the word "Lessons" and said he tries to make a connection with people.
Cooke talked about the importance of networking and keeping in touch with people you've met including keeping in touch with former students.
For the letter "I" he used the word "integrity" and read a quote by Ben Parker (Spiderman's uncle), "with great power comes great responsibility."
For the letter "F," he said "family and friends equal fun." Cooke said all leaders need to spend some time with friends and family.
"I love life. Meeting people gives me energy," Cooke said. "My wife and my little boy empower me."
"E" was "lead by example." Cooke was involved in a fraternity at Millersville University, and mentioned how he took pride in a leadership role so as to lead others by example.
The mentor that Cooke remembers from when he was younger was his father because he instilled a lot of values in him.
"I look at these words; it's how I live my life," Cooke said.
Cooke said he tries to learn new things all the time by meeting different people and never saying no to an opportunity. However, he said he continues to stick to his values.
Meghan Kartstein, a freshman entertainment and arts management major, said Cooke's presentation was inspiring.
"I learned a lot about leadership from the presentation and I really liked the use of mnemonic devices," Kartstein said.
According to Nathan Smith, student life assembly co-chair and student organizations representative for the USGA, hearing Cooke's experiences was enlightening.
"Having known John since he was my AD/RD in Myers over three years ago, I think it was really cool to learn more about his back story and his own experiences through college to today," Smith said.
Cooke taught seventh grade for several years in Northeast Philadelphia before getting his master's and starting his career at Drexel as an AD/RD for Myers Hall. After three years in the dorms, Cooke became involved with campus activities until he got promoted to his current office of assistant dean.
Cooke is originally from Northeast Philadelphia, where he began his leadership career when he was captain of his track and cross-country teams. After high school, Cooke went on to Millersville University where he was involved in a fraternity, track, a version of our campus activities board, the sports column of the newspaper and a radio talk show.
Cooke continues to retain leadership positions off-campus in addition to his many responsibilities at Drexel University. For example, he is on the Alumni Advisory Board for his high school.
The Leadership Luncheon is an event created by USGA this year in order to feature a member of the campus administration. The Luncheon occurs once each term, and allows the presenter to talk about themselves and their leadership styles.
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