UND students are finding new opportunities these days to supplement their regular studies with course work specifically related to the topic of leadership.

One example is the new Nonprofit Leadership Certificate Program in the College of Arts and Sciences, which last spring graduated its first student, Shelle Michaels, who grew up in Adams.

Another six students received the certificate this spring, and a growing number are “in the pipeline,” says program coordinator Heather Helgeson. The nationally recognized certificate enhances these students’ regular majors in the same way that others broaden their education with a “minor” concentration in another field.

The certificate program is approved by American Humanics, a national alliance of universities working in the nonprofit leadership area. Students complete a core sequence of three courses taught within the College of Arts and Sciences. These include “Introduction to the Nonprofit Sector,” “Capstone Experience and Development,” and, most importantly, the internship, an intensive, six-credit, semester-long supervised experience working for a nonprofit organization.

Certificate students also choose three “regular” UND courses from a list offered by various departments on topics related to organizational theory, service and community, and diversity.

These days, Michaels is beginning a new job as special events coordinator for the UND Alumni Association. But she hasn’t been idle since graduation: She’s a graduate student and teaching assistant; operates her own business, Midnight Sun Public Relations; and this year coordinated, for the second time, a local production of The Vagina Monologues to benefit the Grand Forks Community Violence Intervention Center.