Curriculum
Servant Leadership: Foundational Principles of Self-Governance
A discussion-based course examining the key principles of servant leadership through Dave Kuhnert’s Servant Leadership.
Led by intern instructors, these discussions challenge students to integrate the principles of servant leadership into their everyday lives.
Servant leadership is the bedrock of the Emerging Leaders Program and serves as the foundation for everything else interns encounter throughout the year.
Western Heritage: The Roots of American Constitutionalism
A discussion-based course examining the intellectual, moral, and political roots of Western Civilization that shaped the American constitutional tradition.
Through guided readings and facilitated discussion, students explore foundational questions concerning justice, law, liberty, duty, virtue, and human nature. Engaging thinkers such as Aristotle, Cicero, Marcus Aurelius, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas Hobbes, and John Locke, interns learn how the Western tradition developed and why it remains essential for understanding and defending American self-government today.
Western Heritage serves as the intellectual foundation of the program and provides the historical and philosophical context necessary for understanding American Constitutionalism as its telos.
American Constitutionalism: The Fruit of Western Heritage
A discussion-based course exploring the American constitutional tradition as the political fruit of the broader Western intellectual and moral inheritance.
Through engagement with primary sources such as the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, selections from The Federalist Papers, and writings from the American Founding, interns examine the Founders’ understanding of human nature, liberty, political authority, virtue, and self-government.
The course challenges students to consider not only how constitutional government functions, but why it depends upon a morally serious and self-governing citizenry. By tracing the continuity between the Western tradition and the American experiment, interns gain a deeper understanding of the principles necessary for preserving ordered liberty in the third millennium.
Statesmanship: The Expression of Constitutional Leadership
A discussion-based course examining the lives, decisions, and moral judgment of American statesmen throughout history.
Through the study of figures such as James Madison, John Marshall, Henry Clay, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, students explore the relationship between prudence, constitutional order, virtue, and leadership.
Rather than treating leadership as charisma or influence alone, this course presents statesmanship as the disciplined exercise of moral judgment in service to the common good. Interns are challenged to reflect on the responsibilities of leadership within a constitutional republic and the personal formation necessary to bear those responsibilities faithfully.
Professional Development
Throughout the program, interns will engage with the ELP leadership team on a biweekly basis for a one-hour personal mentorship and discussion call. These conversations will dive into some personal development by talking about your life, your goals, your purpose, and how to navigate the rough waters of life to best fulfill your calling.
You will also engage in a two-hour weekly call with the whole intern class for a Socratic-style discussion of the curriculum for that week. The goal of this call is to come together and share ideas about how to better ourselves through the practice of self-governance for the purpose of growing our leadership and sharpening our worldview. Our goal is not the accumulation of knowledge, but rather the attainment of wisdom. We do not want you to come to our calls with all the right answers, but rather with a holy curiosity and a passionate pursuit of the True, Good, and Beautiful.
Course Requirements
This is a virtual synchronous course, meaning active participation in live discussions is a required part of the program.
Throughout the experience, interns will participate in biweekly calls with the ELP leadership team focused on personal mentorship, growth, and discussion. These one-hour conversations are designed to explore your goals, vocation, character, and the challenges of living with purpose and intentionality.
In addition, interns are expected to attend a weekly two-hour group discussion with the full cohort. These Socratic-style conversations center on the week’s curriculum and invite participants to wrestle with ideas surrounding self-governance, leadership, and the formation of a grounded worldview. The aim is not merely the accumulation of knowledge, but the cultivation of wisdom through thoughtful dialogue, intellectual humility, and a sincere pursuit of the True, Good, and Beautiful.