By: Nathan Anderson
When Rachel Daniel enrolled in the University of Alabama at Birmingham's (UAB)Leadership and Professional Development (LEAD) Graduate Certificate program, the world was navigating an unprecedented moment of uncertainty. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, she was searching for a way to continue investing in herself professionally while building skills she could immediately apply in her career.
What she found was much more than a graduate certificate. She found a new perspective on leadership.
"Pursuing a graduate certificate among the chaos felt oddly grounding and provided me a way to still move the needle forward on my own professional journey," Daniel said. "I found the length of the certificate program to be just enough to provide me with some focused skills over a shorter span of time.”
Daniel, who joined UAB in 2015, has built her career around supporting student success. After serving in several student support roles across campus, including positions as an academic advisor and learning support specialist, she now serves as Program Manager for the Blazer Core Curriculum.
One of the highlights of her current role is overseeing Student Consultants on University Teaching (SCOUTs), a student-faculty pedagogical partnership program that is the only known initiative of its kind in Alabama.
While her professional experiences provided a strong foundation in supporting students, the LEAD certificate offered her a broader understanding of what leadership can truly look like.
“The LEAD certificate empowers students, no matter their specific position or role, to help their team and organization achieve results,” said Dr. Kent Andersen, program director for the Office of Interdisciplinary Graduate and Professional Studies. “The courses consider leadership from multiple perspectives, and applies to a broad range of topics. Developing students’ ability to think systemically and wholistically about the challenges they and their teams face.”
"What I found particularly valuable about the LEAD curriculum was how widely applicable it was," Daniel said. "The knowledge I gained from each course could be applied immediately to any professional or personal context."
Rather than viewing leadership as a skill reserved for those with titles or positions of authority, the program challenged her to think differently.
"We often associate leadership with titles within a system when it's really about how we carry ourselves, the decisions we make, and how we treat others," Daniel said. "The best takeaway I discovered about leadership is that it is a process—not just something we arrive at all at once."
One of the most memorable experiences from the program came through the capstone course, where students learned the principles of design thinking and led a one-day design sprint focused on solving real-world challenges.
"Learning how to solve real user needs and implement iterative processes gave me a tangible framework that made the task seem far less daunting," she said.
The program also expanded her skill set beyond her academic background.
"While my background in literary analysis taught me how to dissect literature, the LEAD curriculum provided me with the nuts and bolts of navigating leadership," Daniel said. "To study leadership is not just about developing yourself, but also about honing your influence and relationship skills with others."
Exploring team dynamics, ethical perspectives, and organizational environments gave her a more holistic understanding of effective leadership and how it can adapt across different settings.
That interdisciplinary perspective proved especially valuable when she made a significant career transition. About a year after completing the certificate, Daniel stepped into her current role as Program Manager for the Blazer Core Curriculum, a position that represented a departure from her previous work in student support.
"The certificate helped me capitalize on that career pivot and be successful during the transition," she said.
Today, the lessons she learned through LEAD continue to shape her work in meaningful ways.
As part of her role, Daniel has developed a professional development initiative for SCOUTs centered around the eight career readiness competencies established by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Through interactive workshops, students gain practical skills that prepare them for future careers while documenting measurable growth throughout the year.
Looking back, she is surprised by how often the lessons from the program continue to surface in her everyday life.
"I continue to be surprised about how much I still think about the projects and reflections that I completed for the program," Daniel said.
One course, in particular, taught her how to create engaging team-building activities using everyday resources, a skill that has since earned her the unofficial title of facilitator during annual unit retreats.
She also credits the interdisciplinary nature of the program for broadening her perspective on leadership itself. Learning alongside students from healthcare, business, education, and other fields reinforced an important lesson: while leadership may look different across professions, many of its foundational principles remain universal.
For those considering an interdisciplinary graduate program, Daniel encourages them to embrace the flexibility it offers.
"The interdisciplinary approach strikes me as an ideal academic pathway for anyone seeking specialized professional training or a tailored approach that doesn't fit neatly in a box," she said.
She also notes that the stackable nature of graduate certificates makes them an accessible option for professionals looking to grow their skills while balancing full-time careers.
"Especially for those of us working at UAB, the graduate certificates are a wonderful way to leverage educational assistance toward tangible results," she said.