Wilberforce Leadership Program

WLP Goals

The Wilberforce Leadership Program (WLP) equips undergraduate students to live coherent lives of deep faith, thoughtful influence, and service. We explore the meaning of work, encourage students to assess their own unique gifts, and connect students with like-minded practitioners in diverse spheres of life. Our hope is to see students serve and lead at Carolina and beyond.

Who is involved

Along with staff from the North Carolina Study Center, a steering committee of practitioners in the UNC community has provided helpful advice.

WLP SPRING SCHEDULE

The WLP will have three tracks for the Spring of 2024, with the hope that each track will offer meaningful and relevant content and rhythms for the different stages of the undergraduate journey:

Freshman and Sophomore Cohort - How God’s story informs our approach to calling and vocation

  • Weekly gathering on Thursdays @ 4pm

  • Monthly WLP dinners with practitioners, Thursdays @ 5:30pm

  • Kick-off retreat January 7-9 - Chapel Hill 

  • Vision retreat, February 9-11 - Charlotte

Juniors - A study of Every Good Endeavor

  • Monthly gatherings to discuss Every Good Endeavor, Thursdays @ 5:30pm

  • Monthly WLP dinners with practitioners, Thursdays @ 5:30pm

Seniors - Preparing to Launch

  • Monthly gatherings with other seniors for fellowship, practicals for the transition 

  • Monthly WLP dinners  with practitioners, Thursdays @ 5:30pm

  • Mentorship opportunities through The 12 & Lydia Group

Supplemental resources available to WLP participants

  • Peer mentorship

  • Access to growing alumni database for internship and job connections

  • Resume, LinkedIn, Application coaching 

  • Study Center staff support & guidance

  • Personality, gifting, strength assessment & tools 

WLP SUMMER

Students have their choice to apply for summers where they can exhibit leadership in the marketplace or nonprofit sector. Past students have worked with Bank of America, Sovereigns Capital, Young Life camps, Edify, Middleground Capital, Northwestern Mutual, and various other challenging and rewarding opportunities.

The summer of 2024 is offering a Mission House in Nairobi, Kenya, where students work or volunteer for a month in education, medicine, or business while having an immersive experience in Kenya. Find out more about the WLP Mission House here.

Regardless of their internship, students are encouraged to approach their work thoughtfully alongside industry advisors, Study Center staff, and coaches from the UNC faculty, student, and practitioner community.

Students meet over Zoom during the summer, pooling experiences and encouraging one another. At the end of the summer, students are taught to reflect constructively on their summer and to consider what they have learned about God, his mission, and themselves.

Program Priorities

  1. Give students an expanded vision for mission and work

  2. Encourage students to assess their own gifts, personal trajectory, and vocations

  3. Connect students with one another and with a network of motivated practitioners

  4. Teach students to glorify God in their spheres of influence.

Apply to WLP

Students are invited to fill out the application to receive more information about the Spring 2024 Wilberforce Leadership Program cohort and its upcoming programming.

WLP leadership students on a vision trip to Atlanta in November of 2021.

Recap of Fall 2023 Wilberforce Events

  • Monday, September 11th: Dinner with Melissa Hlavac

  • Monday, October 2nd: Dinner with Douglas Shackelford

  • Wednesday, October 25th: Dinner with Anna Hunter

  • Thursday, November 2nd: Dinner & discussion with Sovereign Capital’s Michael Tremain on Private Equity, Finance & Glorifying God

  • Wednesday, November 15th: Dinner with Charles Merritt

  • Monday, December 4th: Dinner with David Morken

Questions?

If you have questions or want to discuss the WIlberforce Leadership Program
further, please contact Madison Perry at madison@ncstudycenter.org.