Black Students Organizing for Leadership & Development!
BOLD is an interactive leader development program in which each workshop builds upon the others to create a universal understanding of leadership, unity, and advocacy from a global lens, but also with specific attention to the Black student community at UC Merced.
BOLD will not be running this semester. Check back in Fall 2022 for updates dates and times.
Questions? Send us an email: 
- Souza Leadership Center Email: lead@ucmerced.edu
Session 1: Identity
We will celebrate the beautiful diversity within the African Diaspora. We will discuss strategies for how one may navigate internal and external expectations, and systematic prejudice in order to remain authentically you. Leaders are originals, not copies.
Session 1: Leadership
We will explore the following questions: Why do you want to become a leader? Why do we need leadership in this World? Why do we need leadership in the Black community? || We will also discuss skills necessary for great leadership & how leaders can promote unity and social change.
Session 2: Unity
We will begin with a review of the history of Black activism at UC Merced. We will learn the concept of Horizontal Hostility and how to both recognize it and address it. We will work together to define individual and shared values, as well as community expectations. Our special guests will share their perspectives on both the challenges and the rewards of unity within the Black community. Our greatest leaders were very much aware of the importance of unity to create social change.
Session 3: Advocacy
We will define advocacy and the importance of action. We will review the various ways one can engage in leadership and advocacy. We will guide participants in identifying how they as individuals would like to engage in both leadership and advocacy in order to contribute to unity and social change at UC Merced and beyond.
Check out the Special Guests from BOLD 2020 who Zoomed in from California & Abroad!
View Speaker Bios Here!
- Dr. Adrien Sebro, (BOLD Guest Facilitator) Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Austin (UC Alumnus)
- Sophiyat Sadiq, Global Gender Equality Advocate, Technology Advocate, Emerging Young Leader at Lagos State University | Lagos, Nigeria
- Devin Baldwin, Virtual and Augmented Reality & Emerging Technology | Oakland, CA
- Helton Sanches, MSc, Financial Analyst and Founder of LinkingUs | Lisbon, Portugal
- Leah Barros, California Lobbyist, influential in passing California's CROWN Act | Sacramento, CA
- Lorene Fisher, M.A., UC Merced Office of Social Justice Initiatives and Identity Programs | UC Merced
Who should attend this program?
Any UC Merced student who self-identifies as Black/African American/African who is interested in developing their capacity as a leader, and who is interested in advocacy & unity within the Black community at UC Merced and beyond.
Do I need to attend all 3 sessions?
No. You may choose to register for one session, multiple sessions, or all. Those who attend all 4 sessions will receive an official Certificate of Completion from The Margo F. Souza Student Leadership Center.
