Lessons in Leadership

By Patrick Bohn, March 5, 2026

Leadership Scholars provide IC students opportunities for growth.

Incoming Leadership Scholars have the chance to connect and engage in team-building activities prior to the start of the Fall semester.

(Photo courtesy of Mish Lenhart)

Standing outside in the rain picking up trash isn’t an experience many people would look back on fondly, let alone refer to as a growth opportunity. Then again, most individuals wouldn’t willingly put themselves in that situation like Megan Murello ’28.

That’s why, on a Saturday earlier this academic year, Murello, a stage management major at Ithaca College, found herself “stomping around in the mud, having the most fun you could have” while picking up trash around South Hill Elementary School with fellow members of the college’s Leadership Scholars program.

“Being in the program has been such a foundational part of my college experience,” Murello said. “It’s connected me with like-minded people, and it enabled me to grow as a person, not just a student.”

The Leadership Scholars program is open to all incoming first-year and transfer students, providing an annual scholarship while giving them access to community service opportunities, mentorship, and a cohort of similarly dedicated peers, all designed to help students grow comfortable as leaders.

“We’re looking for folks who have shown a commitment to service and taken on leadership roles during their time in high school or their previous college. We want people who have done what we’re going to ask of them in the program.”

Mish Lenhart, director of student engagement at Ithaca College

Students in the program receive an annual $6,000 scholarship and are required to take part in leadership education workshops offered by the college and to give back through “Service Saturday” community service projects, while also maintaining a minimum 2.75 GPA and being part of an on-campus club or organization, member of an athletic team, or resident assistant.

They also create an online e-portfolio, highlighting the experiences they’ve taken part in during their time in the program and how those experiences have helped them grow. They then share their experiences with a small group of other scholars during an end-of-semester dinner. As seniors, they select one experience from their time in the program and share it with the cohort.

As part of the program, students create and share an e-portfolio, highlighting their experiences. (Photo courtesy of Mish Lenhart

“There’s an intentionality about that component,” said Mish Lenhart, director of student engagement at Ithaca. “We ask them to set meaningful, manageable, and measurable goals at the start of each semester, so when it’s over they have a chance to reflect back on how they grew as leaders.”

Each incoming scholar is also paired with a senior within the program, which provides mentorship opportunities for the older students, and an experienced shoulder to lean on for the younger ones.

There isn’t a specific type of incoming student who gets selected as one of the 50 to 60 Scholars from a pool of approximately 700 applicants, though Lenhart said that generally, “We’re looking for folks who have shown a commitment to service and taken on leadership roles during their time in high school or their previous college. We want people who have done what we’re going to ask of them in the program.”

Murello has gravitated to giving back for a long time. Growing up in Denton, Texas, with older brothers, she was active in the Boy Scouts. When she turned 12, she and two other girls started the first all-girls troop in north Texas. She eventually rose to the rank of Eagle Scout, and for her Eagle Scout project she built costume racks for a community theater.

“When I was selected [as a Leadership Scholar] it was that extra boost, extra reason to come to IC,” she continued. “It made me feel like Ithaca was recognizing and appreciating the work I’d done as part of the scouts.”

Megan Murello ’28

“That service component was something I wanted to continue in college,” Murello said. “I applied to 17 schools, and the Leadership Scholars program was one of the big things that appealed to me about Ithaca.”

“When I was selected it was that extra boost, extra reason to come to IC,” she continued. “It made me feel like Ithaca was recognizing and appreciating the work I’d done as part of the scouts.”

Upon arriving on South Hill, Murello took part in the Lead-In program, offered to Leadership Scholars as part of the college’s Jumpstart program, which allows incoming students the opportunity to move in early and participate in one of 14 one-day programs designed to introduce them to fellow students and the Ithaca community.

At Service Saturday events, Leadership Scholars take part in various forms of community service in and around Ithaca. (Photo courtesy of Mish Lenhart)

Murello’s choice for an organization to join was BomberTHON, a student-run organization that holds an annual dance marathon to raise money for the Golisano Children’s Hospital in Syracuse and took part in a Service Saturday at the Ithaca Waldorf School where she and other Leadership Scholars—including four other former Eagle Scouts —built a pigsty for the school’s farm.

“We were geeking out over getting to do it,” she laughed.

Finding herself among like-minded classmates has been a huge part of the appeal of the program.

“I was terrified moving across the country to go to college,” she admitted. “But being a part of Lead-In and meeting the other students, it was like I had found my tribe. That’s when I knew Ithaca was the place for me.”

Noah Darling ’26 recalled feeling similarly to Murello at first, albeit for a different reason. Darling transferred to Ithaca from Harrisburg Area Community College, enrolling as a cinema and photography major.

“As a transfer student, you worry that you may feel alone because your experience isn’t going to be like anyone else’s at your new college,” he said. “But I’ve met so many people as part of this program, including many I still talk to every day.”

Darling quickly became involved in a multitude of things at Ithaca, including working for ICTV, the college’s student-run television station, and as a member and eventually president of Pitch Please, the college’s all-gender, non-audition a cappella group. He’s also the team lead for the group of student content creators who work for the college’s Division of Marketing Communications.

“I used to look up to the students in [leadership] roles, and now I’m the student in the role. I’m incredibly proud of the amount of growth I’ve had.”

Noah Darling '26

“I owe that to the independence that I’ve learned in the Leadership Scholars program,” he said. “I used to look up to the students in these roles, and now I’m the student in the role. I’m incredibly proud of the amount of growth I’ve had.”

He credits the program for not pushing students into leadership roles before they’re ready but instead providing them the opportunity to go along that path at their own pace.

“The program doesn’t assume you’re a leader,” Darling said. “Instead, it gives you chances to excel and believe that you are. By doing that, you create a connection with the communities you’re a part of and have an impact on the campus by pursuing the things that you’re interested in.”

The opportunity for measured growth strongly appealed to Aysia Louis ’26.

Incoming Scholars are paired with a senior, who serves as a mentor to be a guiding hand. (Photo by Mish Lenhart)

“I came out of high school shy and not very outgoing,” she said. “I knew I wanted to get more actively involved at my college but was nervous about initiating that involvement. What drew me to Ithaca and the Leadership Scholars program was realizing that it could push me and hold me accountable for being engaged in a safe way. I could take it at my own pace.”

Louis found that her pace quickened the more that she got involved.

“I joined Sister 2 Sister, a social group that provides a safe space for women of color to talk about their experiences, and now I’m the president” she said. “I also co-founded the Occupational Therapy Students of Color Club, and I’m the Director of Marketing for the Class of 2026.”

“I’ve felt myself evolving through these moments,” Louis continued. “I’ll be sitting in a room, leading a meeting and thinking ‘high school me would have called college me insane.’”

Louis has particularly appreciated the reflective nature of the small-group portfolio presentations.

“It gives us a very intentional way to commemorate all that we’ve done,” she said. “And I’ve really appreciated hearing the stories of other scholars, their missions and values, and seeing how they have grown and the hats they’ve started to wear.”

Raessler Guthrie ’28 has long worn the hat of a student-athlete. A pole vaulter on the women’s track and field team, she was a gymnast in high school, which is when she worked for a nonprofit called Gymnast to Gymnast, where she helped donate 200 leotards to aspiring gymnasts in need.

“What I love about this being part of my college experience is feeling like a switch has been flipped in me. It’s not ‘I have to do this,’ it’s “I get to do this.’ It’s brought me out of my comfort zone and made me a stronger leader.”

Raessler Guthrie ’28

Guthrie majors in advertising, public relations, and marketing communications at Ithaca, so it’s no surprise that she gravitated towards similar engagement opportunities on campus, joining the college’s chapter of the American Advertising Federation and the American Marketing Association. She’s also the head design editor for the student newspaper, The Ithacan.

It’s in this position where she sees the parallels to her experience as a Leadership Scholar.

“I’m constantly talking with staff writers about how as stories change, visuals change, and you have to think outside the box about how to present that information,” Guthrie said. “It’s really similar to how our portfolios evolve based on the experiences we take part in.”

For Guthrie, those experiences include volunteering at the Ithaca ReUse Center, as well as the Ithaca branch of Loaves & Fishes.

“What I love about this being part of my college experience is feeling like a switch has been flipped in me,” she said. “It’s not ‘I have to do this,’ it’s “I get to do this.’ It’s brought me out of my comfort zone and made me a stronger leader.”

“Sometimes you need a helping hand getting out in the world. And the Leadership Scholars program helps with that.”

Aysia Louis ’26.

And though her commitment to the program and the track team keeps her busy, Guthrie doesn’t feel overwhelmed.

“One of the things that’s so great about being a Division III student-athlete is that we’re still given the freedom to do other things,” she said.

For many young adults, being a strong leader isn’t something that appears naturally in their personal toolkits. Even for those who may be more naturally drawn to leadership roles, it’s a skill that must be developed and enhanced through repeated exposures to growth opportunities.

“Sometimes you need a helping hand getting out in the world,” said Louis. “And the Leadership Scholars program helps with that.”

Learn to Lead at IC

Interested in becoming a Leadership Scholar at Ithaca College? You can learn more about the program requirements and opportunities here.