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Leadership Education & Development

Winona State wants to teach students the skills they need to become strong leaders. There are many opportunities for aspiring student leaders, including the Warriors Lead & Serve.

If you want hands-on leadership experience, Winona State offers plenty of roles to do so.

You can run for Student Senate or lead a campus club. You can sign up as team captain for an intramural sports team.

You can make students’ on-campus housing experience memorable as a resident assistant. You can help students succeed in their classes as a tutor —and so much more.

You may develop new skills and experience the community in a new way through volunteering with campus departments and local non-profit organizations.

Volunteering
There are many ways to volunteer your time at Winona State and the Winona community.

Each year, over 500 students contribute over 1,000 hours to the Winona State and the local community. This is over $24,000 in value to the community!

You can volunteer individually or through one of the large service days.

Find Volunteer Opportunities
A group of WSU students volunteer to pick up trash in the Winona community.
Warriors Lead Retreat
Each year, a select number of student leaders are invited to attend the Warriors Lead Retreat.

The overnight retreat is held at an off-campus location where students engage in strategic planning for student campus engagement, learn leadership skills, and bring back team-building activities to their student organizations.

The Winona State President and Student Activities staff lead the development activities.

A female student uses a laptop in a WSU classroom.
Warriors Lead Speakers
The Warriors Lead program provides the opportunity to deepen your leadership skills while connecting with other Warriors.

You can attend as many presentations that interest you. Past topics include:

  • mental health
  • women’s empowerment
  • leaving your leadership legacy
A female speaker presents on stage at a campus event.
Leadership Excellence Awards

Every Spring semester, Warriors Lead and Serve invites the Winona State community to nominate students and recognized student organizations for a variety of awards.

Let’s acknowledge the outstanding work and contributions they have made this academic year to improve our campus, community, and our world.

2025-2026 Awards

Ellery Apel
Outstanding Student Leader
Lindsay Bergan
Outstanding Student Leader
Alice Harnly
Outstanding Student Leader
Nevaeh Johnson
Outstanding Student Leader
Gavin Kellen
Outstanding Student Leader
Lindsay Moen
Outstanding Student Leader
Taryn Tom
Outstanding Student Leader
College of Liberal Arts Dean's Advisory Board
Outstanding Registered Student Organizations
Pre-Nursing Club
Outstanding Registered Student Organizations
WSU International Club
Outstanding Registered Student Organizations
Bangladesh Club | Banglar Mela
Outstanding Registered Student Organization Events
Black Student Union | Ebony Night
Outstanding Registered Student Organization Events
WSU Students for Reproductive Justice & PRISM | Halloween Sex-Ed Trivia & Costume Contest
Outstanding Registered Student Organization Events
Leadership Library
Learn more about a variety of leadership topics by checking out books from the Warriors Lead Leadership Library.

You can read a book on your own or checkout a set of books for a book club group read.

A WSU student reads a book while walking through the Krueger Library.

Browse Our Leadership Library

Book TitleAuthor(s)Book TypeQuantity
"Braving the Wilderness"Brené BrownBook Club11
"Dare to Lead"Brené BrownSolo1
"Daring Greatly"Brené BrownSolo1
"Atomic Habits"James ClearSolo1
"First, Break All the Rules"GallupSolo1
"Strengths Based Leadership"GallupSolo1
"The Power of Positive Leadership"Jon GordonSolo1
"Permission to Screw Up"Kristen HadeedBook Club11
"The Leader You Want to Be: Five Essential Principles for Bringing Out Your Best Self—Every Day"Amy Jen SuSolo1
"The Five Disfunctions of a Team"Patrick LencioniSolo1
"Leadership Is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say and What You Don't"L. David MarquetSolo1
"Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements"Tom Rath and Jim HarterBook Club11
"Radical Candor"Kim ScottSolo1
"The Infinite Game"Simon SinekSolo1
"Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't"Simon SinekSolo1
"Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action"Simon SinekBook Club11
"Find Your Why: A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team"Simon Sinek, David Mead, and Peter DockerBook Club11
Let’s Get Started

If you have any questions, please reach out to Warriors Lead & Serve.