Every Columbia College student’s journey toward leadership is unique and builds on their personal experiences and dreams. Read about how the 4Cs of leadership are interpreted by a diverse group of young women, a new generation of leaders who are already making a positive difference.

Catherine’s Story

Catherine Mae Miller, the oldest of three girls, is a master juggler. She cares for a disabled mother, a younger sister, attends Columbia College, works, and edits the student newspaper, The Post Script. She’s matter-of-fact about it all. She says, “My father came from a bad background. He was a troubled teen who dropped out of school at 16 and eventually got his GED. Because his life was so hard, he taught me and my two sisters to get a good education. He said that was the only way to get a good job.”
           
Miller, born in 1986, grew up in West Columbia. Her father worked as a mechanic. Her mother, a housewife, suffers from cerebral palsy, a condition in which brain abnormalities affect muscle coordination and movement. Miller graduated from Airport High School, where she took honors and advanced placement courses and was a member of the chess club, the guitar club, and a book club. As her mother’s mainstay, she knew her college choice would need to be close by, and, on a Scholars Day visit, fell in love with Columbia College’s English Department and Dr. John Zubizaretta, an English professor and director of the honors program. “English was pretty much the only thing I liked in high school, and I loved to read. I was an aide in the library. I read ‘Catcher in the Rye’ three or four times. I really liked Kurt Vonnegut. The thing that fascinated me the most was books.”
           
Her freshman year, Miller found the English Department “a refuge. I wasn’t faceless.” She joined the newspaper staff and “saw the passion.” When the editor graduated, the paper “fell apart,” nary an issue published in a semester. So she decided to step up. Miller became an associate editor her sophomore year and editor-in-chief her junior and senior years. “I was the first person to become an editor two years in a row,” she says. “It’s so much of a responsibility.” She also served as vice president of the English Majors Society, publicist for the Honors Association, was a professor’s aide and researcher for two years, helping create the curriculum for a Global Studies minor and a database for recruiting Middle Eastern students. She worked as a runner for a West Columbia law firm. And she takes care of her family. After her father died, the married Miller took in her mother and younger sister. She struggles to keep her sister on the straight-and-narrow. Her mother is fairly independent but does need help with daily tasks.
           
Miller is matter-of-fact about her responsibilities, whether talking about her family, work, school, or the newspaper, which sometimes seems to be put out singlehandedly, given all she does. “I co-author. I edit. I fact check. The layout I do by myself.” Students are not paid for their work – there is no ad revenue – but can earn a one-hour credit for a set amount of reporting, photography, or other tasks. Miller suspects that’s not enough of an incentive. Even so, “It’s all worth it in the long run. I’m having amazing experiences I couldn’t have anywhere else. I think I make a difference on campus.”
           
Miller found other loves in college. An interest in film resulted in a grant her junior year to study women filmmakers in the South. She presented at a symposium and further developed her work into an honors project. She attended a West Virginia conference, making a presentation on international filmmakers; she was the only undergraduate presenting. She also made a presentation on reflective writing at a Florida conference. Along the way, she discovered she enjoyed the experiences. “I said in my mind maybe I’d like to teach some day.” But the newspaper’s trial-by-fire experiences are where Miller has found her leadership training. Miller says her leadership is put to the test each time she conducts a newspaper meeting. “I have to stand up and be prepared. The students look up to you and depend on you. Coming through has given me skills that are irreplaceable.” Miller finds she lives the 4Cs -- leadership development that emphasizes courage, commitment, confidence, and competence – in the day-by-day production of the newspaper. It took courage, since she lacked journalism classes or high-school experience, to take on responsibility for the college paper. She says, “I’ve learned to be diplomatic. I’ve learned to be a colleague, not a friend. I’ve found the courage I need when deadlines are at hand. I have to be competent to do the job well and encourage others. I have to be confident enough to put the paper out and committed to put it out. Students depend on the paper being published. They expect to see it. I’m the one who is responsible.”