Collegiate Leadership Competition team wraps up spring semester

Concordia University, Nebraska’s Collegiate Leadership Competition team is a group of 18 driven and competitive students who are always looking to improve. The team is led by Professor of Business Administration Dr. Curt Beck.  

As a part of the team, throughout the year the students spend time twice a week practicing their leadership skills and learning curriculum that they can implement to strengthen their leadership. They do this by doing challenges or riddles that they need to solve as a team, and the students take turns being the leader of the group to solve the challenge. 

The students also get to apply these skills in real life by taking turns planning events throughout the year. Events planned by the Competitive Leadership Team include the business luncheon, ice cream social, laser tag and the business symposium. 

“Growing as a leader has taught me to expand my communication, making me more confident when connecting with peers or professors. The team enhances students’ learning as a whole because we provide events that are an extra outlet for real-world learning, such as the business symposium.”

Team member Kaylee Powell, a junior from Central City, Nebraska, said that the team has enhanced her overall education at Concordia Nebraska by growing her confidence. 

“Growing as a leader has taught me to expand my communication, making me more confident when connecting with peers or professors. The team enhances students’ learning as a whole because we provide events that are an extra outlet for real-world learning, such as the business symposium.” 

This year, the leadership team brought in speakers Mike Anderson of Anderson Ford in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Victor Santana ’25, the sales and marketing representative of Eagle Distributing in Fremont, Nebraska, to deliver speeches at the business symposium. Both spoke about the relationship between leadership and faith in the workplace.  

The team also competes in leadership competitions each year. This year the team competed in and won both the regional Collegiate Leadership Competition (CLC) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and the virtual global competition.  

Powell said that being a part of the team has been one of her favorite parts of being at Concordia Nebraska. 

“I’ve loved being a part of the leadership team because it has connected me with some of my best friends in college. The bonds I’ve built through this experience have turned into lasting friendships. I’m especially grateful that many of us are business majors, which allows us not only to grow together in leadership but also to support each other academically as we navigate our classes together.” 

Students who participate in the Collegiate Leadership Team include: 

Ashley Keck, Kearney, Nebraska 

Kaylee Powell, Central City, Nebraska 

Avery Black, Omaha, Nebraska 

Brooks Kissinger, Ashland, Nebraska 

Caitlyn Adams, Beaver Crossing, Nebraska 

Claire Beikmann, Pierce, Nebraska 

Cylee Jameson, Thedford, Nebraska 

Faith Babbitts, Shohola, Pennsylvania 

Gabrielle Wagner, Sioux City, Iowa 

Hayden Frank, Lincoln, Nebraska 

Jack Martin, Parker, Colorado 

Josh Luehr, Wood River, Nebraska 

Mady Klein, Lincoln, Nebraska 

Niah Kirchner, Omaha, Nebraska 

Taylor Larsen, Hazard, Nebraska 

Dane Jacobsen, Ashland, Nebraska 

Paige Melohn, Manson, Iowa 

Concordia University, Nebraska’s Collegiate Leadership Competition (CLC) Team provides students who are passionate about leadership with tangible, high-impact learning experiences for future leaders. Students on the CLC Team participate in national and global leadership competitions where they have moved into consistent top 5 national rankings over teams at universities with student populations 15 times the size of Concordia University, Nebraska.