(13) Student Engagement in a Pop Culture-Themed Leadership Retreat

Objective : To evaluate the impact of a pop culture theme on student engagement and professional identity formation at an annual Student Leadership Retreat.

Methods: The Student Leadership Retreat was a 3-day event consisting of networking activities and breakout sessions facilitated and designed by faculty, staff, and students. The planning committee incorporated a pop culture theme as a foundational basis for the Student Leadership Retreat, titled “BELIEVE - Leadership and Team Lessons.” Sessions were divided into four categories (purpose/drive, empowerment, inclusion, and relationships) and incorporated leadership principles based on the show. The retreat goal was to cultivate pharmacist professional and leadership identity formation for student participants. Post-event surveys used 4-point Likert scales and free-response questions to evaluate student understanding, inclusion, and overall program benefit. Responses were evaluated using mean ± standard deviation.

Results: Of 66 students (100% completion rate), 89% indicated that the pop culture theme positively impacted the experience. Overall learning benefit (3.69 ± 0.55) and the effect of objectives on preparing students for future leadership goals (3.70 ± 0.58) demonstrated the usefulness of the theme. The pop culture theme also had a positive effect on student inclusion (3.75 ± 0.45). Most students (92%) found the use of television show clips to be highly beneficial in helping with understanding session objectives. Overall, the incorporation of pop culture was considered highly valuable (3.83 ± 0.52).

Conclusions: Incorporating pop culture as the foundational basis for a student leadership development retreat promoted engagement, understanding of leadership concepts, feelings of inclusion, and overall benefit. The use of pop culture content enhanced overall student experience and seems promising for future student success, inclusion, and professional identity formation initiatives.