Emily Eagle’06 leads a student-focused workshop to develop facilitation skills.

Emily Eagle, Fall 2023 Executive in Residence, returned to campus in the spring to offer workshops on how to build group facilitation skills, a key skill for effectively communicating, creatively problem-solving, and productively collaborating. 

Students left the workshop with new techniques to try in their clubs and group projects.

“As we went through this workshop, I imagined many cases and scenarios where I could use these skills,” said Candis Damtse’24. “Thinking back to being the president of Theta last semester, I can envision how much more efficient meetings would have been having known these skills and taking this class.”

Another student, Frank Hooton’26 drew connections between this workshop and a teaching fellowship he’s also a part of. “The workshop is incredibly useful and helpful for public speech, engagement, and presentation,” said Frank. “No matter what you study, I believe everyone could draw use from this workshop.”

Emily Eagle drew from her experience as a product designer and UX designer, sharing strategies for engaging colleagues.Each of the three workshops was tailored to the audience of students or faculty or staff, but all shared common themes. Emily prioritizes inclusive practices because she believes that a team gets better results when it hears from everyone involved, and the workshops shared practical approaches for bringing together a group of people around a goal, balancing the different personalities and needs of a diverse number of people in one room, and helping introverts to speak up and extraverts to listen.

Faculty and staff were invited to take up this professional development opportunity, and folks from all across the college attended. Student Life professionals commented that the workshop helped them think of new ways of doing things.

Kristi Wiechman, the Dean of Students Office Manager, said, “It is easy to get stuck in doing things the same way, so it was nice to leave the workshop with a variety of prompts that jar us out of our usual way of doing things.”

Ben Katz, the LEADS coordinator, found the workshop helpful to think about roles and power dynamics. “As someone who facilitates meetings with student workers, it was helpful to think more deliberately around how to do that, how to shake up the roles we play in meetings, and how to think or different activities to try out different roles, like writing independently or working in pairs,” said Ben.

"Professional development opportunities brought to us during business hours are amazing," said Vanessa Rammelt, Associate Director of Financial Aid. "Emily brought us strategies that work whether it's for meetings with other staff or with students."

Vice President for Career & Professional Development Tim Leslie arranged for Emily to return after her residency ended. “One of the most important skills our students learn while at Beloit is how to collaborate with others to set goals and creatively solve problems,” said Tim. “Emily’s workshop provided students with invaluable tools on how to do this effectively and inclusively, balancing different personalities and group needs.” Tim reported that feedback from the workshops was very positive.

Emily Eagle’06 has worked for major tech companies, but shared that low tech, everyday things--like markers, stickies, and name tags–can engage participants in meaningful ways.