The first interactive student leadership network in the world, the American Leadership Organization (ALO) exists to help students stand up for what they believe in and make positive change in society.
Our goals:
1) To increase leadership dialogue and awareness by providing a forum and linking together all leadership conferences, departments, and entities on our website. Once a conference is over, the ALO allows the dialogue to continue by giving students and professionals an avenue to carry on conversation through our message boards and blog.
2) Maintain a blog and other scholarly articles/postings, to serve as a resource for students to learn more about leadership. We will regularly interview leaders in government, entertainment, and sports to provide a link between student leaders and "professional leaders." Our blog postings will include articles from students and professionals across the nation, in a true collaborative effort.
3) Use our leadership to help those disaffected in society. The ALO will put together drives to deliver computers, books, and training to disaffected youth in the Baltimore & Annapolis areas, while encouraging our affiliated members to do the same across the country.
4) Increase voter turnout in the 18-24 year-old demographic by 25% in the next 8 years. Extending our "get-out-the-vote" drives to military servicemembers, the less fortunate in society, and other members who either do not vote or cannot vote for whatever reason, we hope to mobilize the youngest voting demographic of Americans like never before.
5) Help individuals think of leadership in new and innovative ways--to help students "think outside the box." We do this through a variety of avenues--currently, students at the US Naval Academy and Georgetown University are collaborating on a video project whose theme asks "What is Leadership?" Students go out to the streets to ask ordinary people the answer to that question, as well as high-level government officials and celebrities. The end result will be an awesome film about a very relevant topic, that we hope will appeal to a wide range of individuals.
Our Mission
To unify the collegiate students of these United States in order that we may grow in voice, leadership, and moral courage. We firmly believe in ourselves and in our collective strength--our universities will be emboldened when we develop true collegiate interdependency, and our educations will be stronger when we each take a stand for one another. As the future leaders of these United States, we are ensuring that this country possesses the kind of leadership that will take it boldly through the coming generations. We are leaders who choose to lead and learn from each other.
Why the ALO?
John F. Kennedy was a great American figure, and his words ring true today—“Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.” It is time we believed, as a nation, that our student leaders can help themselves and our great society.
Even more importantly, President Kennedy once remarked, “We need men who can dream of things that never were.” Today, we are taking that dream and acting on it. This is our pledge to the future of the nation—this organization is the symbol of our promise.
Finally, remembering the president’s words yet again, we realize that this organization is our truest call to duty: “Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.” We are that generation. We gladly accept that torch.
