{"id":38679,"date":"2025-07-10T15:31:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T19:31:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/?p=38679"},"modified":"2025-07-15T09:10:44","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T13:10:44","slug":"advantage-scholars-get-first-experience-as-paladins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/advantage-scholars-get-first-experience-as-paladins\/","title":{"rendered":"Advantage Scholars get first experience as Paladins"},"content":{"rendered":"

This summer, The Riley Institute welcomed 39 incoming scholars to Furman University’s campus for a four-day immersive experience focused on leadership development and effective communication on pressing civic issues.<\/p>\n

The Advantage Scholars program<\/a> introduces recipients of Furman’s named scholarships<\/a> to the university’s academic values, which includes ensuring that students are prepared to engage with the world as skilled communicators and leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know lasting solutions to any societal issue will require compromise and a willingness to listen to and partner with those with whom we disagree, so we chose to work on developing discourse skills in the incoming Furman scholars,\u201d said Kendall Gallagher-King, director of student programs at The Riley Institute.<\/p>\n

One of the first workshops Advantage Scholars focused on was intergroup dialogue, asking participants to step outside their comfort zones, reflect on their communication styles and explore how this may affect their ability to connect with people who have differing perspectives.<\/p>\n

\"One

Loralei Jones ’29 and Liz Moody ’26 enjoy down time during the Advantage Scholars program. Photo by Jeremy Fleming ’08.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI really liked the point about respecting other people\u2019s ideas and how just that idea of respect can make such a difference,\u201d said Raphaela Bigwood \u201929 from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. \u201cI think it\u2019s such an important trait of leading and creating solutions, especially in today\u2019s political atmosphere where everything is about winning and not backing down an inch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interactive workshops such as Talk Less: Ask More and Concentric Circles helped students develop the ability to ask better questions, listen empathetically and speak with intention.<\/p>\n

\u201cConor Riordan (\u201924, a post-baccalaureate fellow for scholars programming), gave such a great lesson on how to ask questions with more power and meaning behind them,\u201d said Anna Kate Bailey \u201929 from Vestavia Hills, Alabama. \u201cI\u2019m excited to put those skills to use both in and out of the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to workshops, students participated in issue-based learning experiences, grouped by their interests in topics like public education, sustainability, community health, criminal justice and housing and homelessness. The students also visited Greenville organizations, including Public Education Partners and Triune Mercy Center, connecting classroom ideas to real-world impacts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis experience really solidified that I was in a place that set me apart from students at other schools,\u201d Bigwood said. \u201cThere were learning opportunities outside of the classroom that I wouldn\u2019t get anywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Experiences like this highlight how Furman allows students to learn through experience, develop interpersonal skills, build connections and gain an authentic understanding of the world and communities around them.<\/p>\n

For some, like James Garland \u201929 from Simpsonville, South Carolina, participating in Advantage Scholars confirmed his choice to attend Furman. \u201cThe students I met and the speakers I heard from made it clear that I am at the right place. I love having deep, challenging conversations, diving into nuance and exploring the biggest questions in life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Advantage Scholars have received a named scholarship to Furman. They took workshops and visited community organizations around Greenville. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":434,"featured_media":38680,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/434"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38679"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38679\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41837,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38679\/revisions\/41837"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}