USM Students Test Leadership Skills in South African Town

University of Southern Maine students spent the summer of 2026 in South Africa to examine how leadership functions outside the classroom. The Montagu Project, led by Professor Tara Grey Coste, places undergraduate and graduate students from the Department of Leadership and Organizational Studies in direct contact with local communities. The program aims to shift the focus from studying leadership theory to experiencing it in action.

The trip began in Cape Town, where participants visited sites tied to the history of apartheid and its aftermath. Students toured Robben Island and the District Six Museum to understand the legacy of resistance and reconciliation. The group also met with Ernestine Deane, a Cape Indigenous singer and poet, who discussed ancestral perspectives on identity and the land. These visits provided a cultural backdrop for the students' subsequent work in smaller communities.

The core of the experience took place in Montagu, a small town in the Western Cape province. There, USM students joined forces with South African young adults for a weeklong workshop. Local facilitators guided the group using Appreciative Inquiry, a method that asks participants to identify existing strengths rather than focusing on deficits. Through storytelling, dialogue, and creative exercises, the groups developed practical approaches to community leadership.

This approach emphasized partnership over intervention. Instead of arriving with pre-set solutions, USM students worked alongside local partners to discover common aspirations. The process required participants to adjust to differences in language, experience, and worldview. Students practiced facilitating conversations rather than directing them, a shift that required humility and adaptability.

Professor Grey Coste noted that the program challenges students to reconsider what leadership looks like across different cultural contexts. The experience serves as a living laboratory for concepts such as ethical leadership and cultural awareness. By applying coursework in an unfamiliar environment, students gain a practical understanding of how to collaborate effectively across geographic and cultural boundaries.

The program concludes with the understanding that meaningful leadership begins with listening. Students return home with new perspectives on their own capacity to contribute to positive change. The initiative reinforces the idea that communities possess the resources and creativity needed for sustainable growth.