LFS: All in the Family

The Economic Alliance’s Leadership for Five Seasons (LFS) program runs in the family for some. Over the years, different generations of families have enrolled in various LFS programs. This year, a mother-daughter duo is participating at the same time! Nicole Hubbell is currently in the Adult LFS program, while her daughter, Courtney, is taking part in the Youth program. (Also, Nicole’s other daughter, Allison, is a 2020 graduate of the Youth program.) We got to know Nicole and Courtney a little better as they shared their LFS experiences:

Nicole, you have another daughter, Allison, who graduated from the Youth program in 2020. What makes this program so important to you and your family?

I love the LFS program and for our girls, it gives them more of a community-minded view of Cedar Rapids. They have an appreciation for aspects of our community that they did not see or recognize in the past. Sharing what we learn after each day is fun to discuss and compare.

Speaking of sharing what you’ve learned, the Adult and Youth programs take the True Colors assessment. What are your colors and what sort of discussions have come from that?

Nicole: I am a Gold with Orange and Green being closely next and a low Blue. I’m definitely a Gold but am finding out I am becoming more Orange as my career progresses.

Courtney: I am a Green but closely followed by Gold. Low in Orange and Blue.

We talk about Colors a lot at home. I feel more aligned to Gold but my family has seen more Green coming through.

What has been your favorite day or activity in the program and why?

Nicole: I have enjoyed all of the sessions so far and the variety they offer. My favorite day so far has been Entrepreneurial Day. The main reason being two classmates are entrepreneurs that we heard from and were able to visit. The variety of businesses we have and the sense of community helping each other was amazing to observe and learn about. I’m very risk adverse and the courage and passion from the business owners was very impactful.

Courtney: My favorite day so far has been Law & Government. I liked hearing from the leaders in not only Cedar Rapids but Marion and Hiawatha, and the broad discussions that came from them. We also heard from the fire department, police department (including an officer, detective and K9). They really made me think about those careers a bit more than I had. I also couldn’t stop smiling when the police K9 came to visit!

What has been the biggest lesson learned from each of your program experiences?

Nicole: The biggest lesson I have learned is how many passionate people are involved and want to do even more to make Cedar Rapids a great place to work and live including my classmates in the program and the program Alumni that still volunteer. It is fantastic!

Courtney: My biggest lesson learned so far is to not underestimate or overlook any career opportunity. Every person who has talked to us is super passionate about what they do which has made me look a little deeper into that field to explore my interests.

The Economic Alliance’s Leadership for Five Seasons program has more than 1,300 adult program alumni and 1,000 youth program alumni. The LFS adult program application opens April 1, 2022, and if you have or know of a current sophomore at Linn-Mar, Marion, Prairie, Kennedy, Jefferson, Washington, Xavier or Metro please encourage them to reach out to their counselor to apply this spring. Both programs will officially kick-off in August of 2022. If you have questions or want to learn more about Leadership for Five Seasons, please contact Jessica Komisar at jkomisar@cedarrrapids.org.

Thank you to our Class of 2022 Sponsors, Van Meter and Shive Hattery.