Youth Leadership-Development Major

Private Christian colleges seem to be a dime a dozen, but when it comes to AU, one thing that stands out is that they offer both psychology and Christian ministries-related courses. A lot of people look at those two as being opposite forces, but AU embraces both. I took an assertiveness skills course at AU and a related internship where two other psychology students and I taught life skills to a resident at the Christian Center in Anderson. It was partly for our betterment, learning to teach these skills, but there was also a community service component to that as well.

— Brian Hart, 2008 Grad.

The challenges encountered by youth are universal: the struggle to "fit in," to establish and maintain healthy relationships with peers and parents, managing stress, developing self-respect, and a healthy attitude toward sexuality. In order to navigate the trail of adolescence, young people need mentors to help them make appropriate decisions and avoid the pitfalls that come with the territory.

Youth Leadership-Development provides students with the training needed to help youth develop the knowledge and skills they need for social interactions, such as assertiveness training, building and maintaining healthy relationships, and developing effective communication tech­niques. The classes provide a multi-disciplinary approach to both theory and practice for dealing with current issues in the lives of youth in American culture. Course content includes the study of human behavior, courtship and marriage, sexuality, adolescent development, peer and family relation­ships, nutrition, stress management, substance abuse, and other issues that affect youth.

As a complementary major, Youth Leadership-Development does not stand alone to fulfill graduation requirements, but it is a valuable complement to such majors as youth ministries, sociology, social work, criminal justice, family science, psychology, and other majors involving interaction with youth. This major is also an excellent complement for students who enjoy working with youth, but whose careers will be in fields that may not involve interaction with youth.

In addition to coursework, students complete a practicum and an internship. In the practicum, students will train other AU students with the skills they have learned. In the internship, students apply these skills in a "real-world" setting, working directly with youth.

Youth Leadership-Development Courses