Since 1999, Sigma Chi’s freshmen and sophomore members have been afforded the opportunity to apply to the Horizons leadership development program, now called the Horizons Huntsman Leadership Summit. Those who are selected travel to Snowbird, Utah, to engage with like-minded young Sigs and dedicated alumni volunteers over the course of a weeklong series of learning activities.
Now, for the first time, the Fraternity is making those lessons available to its alumni and upperclassmen undergraduate members. Called Sigma Chi Vistas, the executive leadership program’s inaugural session will take place March 5 to 8, 2016, and will be based out of Monteverde, Costa Rica. In addition to taking part in workshops designed to foster team dynamics and teach the importance of engaging in feedback models, participants will spend their days white-water rafting, ascending an active volcano, exploring natural hot springs and riding the world’s tallest and longest zip line.
“We’re going to give Vistas participants the opportunity to learn about and develop stronger values-based leadership skillsets that will serve them well in their careers, community involvement and family lives, and we’re doing it in a tropical Costa Rican setting that can’t be beat,” says Vistas co-chairman and Order of Constantine Sig Randy Bracey, WESTERN KENTUCKY 1982.
Undergraduates and recent alumni—those who graduated in spring 2013 or afterward—are eligible to participate for an all-inclusive price of $3,900, while general alumni can partake for a fee of $4,400. The fee includes airfare, lodging, transportation, admission to training sessions, food and excursions. Of those totals, a security deposit of $1,000 must be paid by Oct. 16, while the remaining balance of each registration option is due no later than Jan. 1, 2016.
“Our goal with this program is similar to that of the Huntsman Leadership Summit: To provide participants with a heightened sense of awareness of their own leadership capabilities, and to teach them how to work and live best in the context of a corporate environment,” says Order of Constantine Sig Chris Brown, FURMAN 1989, another co-chairman of the Vistas program. “It’s going to be a uniquely Sigma Chi experience that allows our brothers to reconnect with the core values of our Fraternity, while incorporating leadership lessons into their lives.”
For more information about Sigma Chi Vistas, visit the program's webpage on sigmachi.org, or contact David Hackworthy, ST. THOMAS 2012, associate director of leadership programs at Sigma Chi International Fraternity Headquarters.
