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Comments from External Experts
about Greenville's "Strengths" Project
"Having heard the detailed planning and enthusiasm you and
your staff have for integrating the StrengthsFinder into your program
for developing lives, I want to congratulation you and to endorse
your program. Greenville College is the first college or university
to incorporate the StrengthsFinder in a longitudinal study of student
and faculty development. Your results will be of national interest.
However, the most significant outcomes will certainly be in the
lives of your students. We at Gallup are pleased to be partnering
with you."
- Dr. Donald O. Clifton
Chairman of the Gallup International Research & Education Center
"By focusing on your students' strengths and building an undergraduate
program based on those strengths, the institution is making, in my
opinion, an intelligent and strategically sound decision..."
- William J. Flanagan, Ph.D.
Consultant - Student Success and Retention
Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students
Beloit College, Beloit, WI
"Congratulations to you and your colleagues for going the 'extra
mile' in helping your students to better understand their God-given
talents and gifts. There is no better way to assure that students
will get the most out of their college experience.
Beyond your systematic and formal assessment of students' strengths,
you are creating a campus-wide culture designed to reinforce their
unique strengths while diligently looking for opportunities to further
develop those strengths through practice.
Greenville College's comprehensive focus on helping students discover
and develop their individual gifts will give them a distinctive
advantage in their careers, vocations, communities and families.
In short, Greenville College is building a strengths-based culture
to bombard your students with positive reinforcement in the classroom
and all other contact points on the campus. The intensity and comprehensiveness
of your efforts may be unique in American higher education today.
"
- Lee Noel, Ph.D.
Cofounder of Noel Levitz
Comments from Greenville Faculty
" It was a wonderful experience learning where my strengths lie.
Knowing my strengths is extremely enlightening and makes me feel more
positive about myself."
- Sharon E. Davis
Instructor, Art Historian/Curator of Bock Museum
"The strengths approach offers a hopeful framework for relating
to ourselves and to each other, as we attempt to become the people
God make us to be. Exploring the meaning of our strengths and dreaming
and scheming of new ways to capitalize on them " stirs us inside"
and leads us to a spirit of expectancy about what God can do."
- Dr. Jim Zahniser
Assistant Professor of Psychology
"I went to a one week [StrengthsFinder] course last
summer with Dr. Chip Anderson and it helped me to realize that some
of the ways that I do things are my strengths. I realize now that
one reason I love my job as Resident Director is that I have the
strengths needed to do the job well. The strength of Individualization
help same to appreciate the differences and diversity among students
and to value it. The Relator strength means that I enjoy building
deep relationships with students, and the Maximizer strength means
that I enjoy helping people improve on themselves. These three strengths
combined allow me to effectively 'see' students strengths, build
a relationship with them, and then encourage them to build on their
strengths to overcome their weaknesses... My hope is that all GC
students will learn to appreciate and use their strengths as much
as I have."
- Dr. George Barber
Assistant Professor of Health, PE and Recreation
Comments from Greenville Staff and
Administrators
"Our desire is that every student who comes to Greenville College
be surrounded by a group of caring adults (faculty, student development
staff, coaches, career planning, etc.) who can help them understand
who God made them to be... and to use the four years at Greenville
to be fully prepared to make a difference for Christ in the world."
- Nancy Gaines MS, LCPC
Director of Counseling Services
"Contrary to our cultural norm which encourages a focus on
people's weaknesses, the Strengths Finder concept shifts the paradigm
to focus first on what strengths people possess. This frees one
to relate to others in light of how their strengths help them to
succeed."
- Dr. Tom Morgan
Director of Retention/Special Assistant to the President
"The Strengths Finder program has caused me to rethink both
how I think of others and how I think about myself."
- Norm Hall
Associate Vice President and Dean of Student Development
"The StrengthsFinder test has helped me to understand the
way I approach situations in life. I can clearly see my strengths
play out in the way I approach my job and relationships. My time
spent at the Gallup organization was a fantastic experience, one
that I will never forget."
- Brandon Hill
Coordinator of Men's Residence Education
"It was a tremendous tool for developing conversation based
on students' strengths, and therefore the conversations were "confidence
builders" for my freshman COR 101 students."
- Brian McMahon
Head Men's Soccer Coach
"I believe we are all called to know who we are. Through an
increased awareness of self and interactions with others we can
draw closer to God and His purpose in our lives. SF is an opportunity,
invitation and vehicle that can assist us in that endeavor."
- Jessica Estévez, MM
Multicultural & Cross-Cultural
"This tool is valuable for the language it provides us in
identifying how we work best. Finally, people will be able to use
the same language to communicate and understand each others strengths
and experiences."
- Dawn Mulholland
Executive Assistant to Vice President of Academic Affairs
"The Strengths Finder has helped me focus more on the parts
of my job that I enjoy and has made me feel good about the results."
-Tonya Holman
Director of Academic Enrichment Center
"StrengthsFinder is an uplifting experience which allows us
to claim our strengths and rejoice in our strengths. It is a pleasure
to work in a setting where strengths are appreciated and understood
by all."
- Diana Hoffmann
Administrative Assistant to the Director of the Library
"The test provided a great deal of insight. Not only
did the results affirm those strengths that I knew were present,
but also made me aware of some I may have never noticed. Moreover,
having my strengths so clearly laid out for me provided a great
deal of confidence for my position this year. "
- Ryan Young
Coordinator of Men's Residence Education
Comments from Greenville Students
"The StrengthsFinder has been an extremely useful tool in
helping me look at myself from a new perspective. Especially with
relation to my future career, the test has helped me understand
what kinds of work I would find fulfilling. For example, the test
identified that I have the strength of Maximizer, which means I
prefer improving on a preexisting structure, rather than creating
that structure from scratch. Due to this realization, I turned down
a job offer where I would've had to create my own position, a task
I know I would have found frustrating. The test also identified
that I have the strengths of developer, input, and connectedness.
Knowing this has confirmed an interest in one day becoming a college
professor.
I am grateful for this tool. I believe it has helped me understand
better where my gifts and talents lie and has saved me from a lot
of time and frustration in trial and error. It has focused my future
sights in a particular direction, which is something I didn't have
before taking the test."
-Julia Schoenhals
Comments from Burritt Residents
I think the Strengths Finder is a valuable tool. I can see how all
my strengths are reflected in my life. It would be helpful if the
test were more available. I'd like to take it again because I think
I've changed since I took it.
Sophomore - Input, Developer, Empathy, Belief, Positivity
Knowing my strengths has helped me to know where I fit in to different
situations and what roles I am most capable of filling in the environments
around me. Such as when choosing a career, I knew that I am better
suited for a job working with people because of my woo and communication
strengths.
Sophomore - Communication, Restorative, Harmony, Woo, Futuristic
I love the Strengths Finder. I think it is important for students
to find out who they are inside.
Freshman - Belief, Empathy, Competition, Communication, Activator
I have found that all five of these strengths together have benefited
me in my small group leadership in E-café because they have
helped me relate to others and meet them where they are in life.
Sophomore - Empathy, Consistency, Developer, Positivity, Belief
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