Elon's Viewpoints Fellows participated in a retreat with Dartmouth student leaders in September.
At the end of September, Elon University hosted the pilot cohort of the Viewpoints Fellowship for student leaders from Elon and Dartmouth not just to reflect on their own leadership, but to explore ways to bridge differences and imagine bold changes to their campuses.
The retreat centered on one key idea: when students lead with curiosity, everything changes. Through structured exercises, case studies, and facilitated dialogue, participants practiced listening deeply, questioning assumptions, and stepping into perspectives different from their own.
This collaboration with the Viewpoints Project exemplifies the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life’s commitment to fostering meaningful dialogue across difference and cultivating thoughtful, inclusive experiential co-curricular learning. The Viewpoints Project is a student-led nonprofit empowering young people to approach disagreement with curiosity. Through the Viewpoints Fellowship, students build the skills to navigate hard conversations and strengthen civic culture from the ground up.
Elon’s student leaders left the retreat with new insights and practical tools to bring back to the clubs and organizations they lead. Sasha Stanley, president of Divine Embers, highlighted the “Most Generous Argument” exercise, which encourages understanding before disagreement: “Don’t be afraid to hear different viewpoints and ask questions to foster a deeper understanding.”
Nailah Ware, president of Limitless, noted the value of courage in dialogue: “Instead of being quick to dismiss, I want to ask questions with the intention of understanding,” she explained. “I learned to show up with courage, having an open mind is beneficial to disagreement or dialogue because I am allowing myself to step away, listen to others, reflect on my beliefs, and speak.”
Milk Club President Jacob Bradshaw reflected on the importance of civil conversation over perfection: “In order to discuss something, I don’t always have to be an expert on it or have a perfect argument. It’s more important to have civil discussions with room for error than to not have any discussions at all.”
Hannah Wager of the Sierra Student Coalition added that the retreat helped her face conflict confidently: “This retreat made me realize that I’m really not as scared of conflict as I thought I was.”
Across all reflections, one theme stood out: curious, courageous dialogue doesn’t just improve communication, it strengthens leadership. By embedding these practices into the student groups where fellows already lead, the Viewpoints Project, and the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, ensure that conversation grounded in curiosity, respect, and empathy shapes campus culture.
For Elon’s Viewpoints Fellows, Fatmata Bah of the Elon Muslim Society; Jacob Bradshaw – Milk Club; Sasha Stanley of Divine Embers; Omar Khamis of the Arabic Language Organization; Madeline Mitchener of Students for Peace and Justice; Aiden Prucker of the American Studies Club; Nailah Ware of Limitless; and Hannah Wagner of the Sierra Student Coalition, the retreat is just the beginning. Elon’s fellows will spend the fall bringing the philosophy of curious disagreement back to campus, inspiring conversations and actions that extend far beyond the weekend.
By equipping student leaders with the skills, practices, and mindset for thoughtful engagement and dialogue across difference, this work with the Viewpoints Project helps the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life ensure that productive conversation grounded in curiosity, respect, and empathy remains central to the Elon’s campus culture.