Rich Greenlee (BSConE’66) and his wife, Carm (BSFamConsSci’65), recently donated $1,500 to supply 100 strengths-building books to Iowa State University construction engineering students enrolled in CON E 122, Cornerstone Learning Community: Orientation to Professional Life.
The book, “StrengthsFinder 2.0” by Tom Rath, discusses 34 personal and professional traits that students can identify as their talents. The book encourages people to build upon their strengths, instead of fixing their shortcomings.
“My wife and I want to help students become well-rounded in their community – work beyond their technical skills,” Rich Greenlee said.
Maggie Holt, construction engineering senior and peer mentor for the CON E 122 course this spring, read the book during a Program for Women in Science and Engineering (PWSE) seminar in fall 2012. She took the “strengths” test: her greatest strength is harmony. “Identifying my greatest strength has helped me become more aware of other people’s strengths working in a team,” Holt said.
Holt also said that realizing greatest strengths helps students navigate the busy college path. “A student who understands what he or she is naturally good at can use that knowledge and apply it to his or her own learning, rather than relying on someone else’s methods.”
