Leadership & Community Engagement
Michael Maksymowski Embodies Most Valuable Niner Honor for UNC Charlotte
By: Teagan Welch, Assistant Director of Communications for Student Affairs
From a student leader in his undergrad, to the role as “House Dad” for a fraternity in graduate school, being a leader has always come naturally for Michael Maksymowki.
In June 2017, Maksymowski accepted a job at UNC Charlotte as an assistant director for the Center for Leadership Development, now called Leadership & Community Engagement. Seven years later, Maksymowski is associate director — and a divisional award winner.
“It felt validating in terms of the work I've done leading my team during the unknowns,” he said.
Maksymowski recently received the Student Affairs Most Valuable Niner award, which recognizes employees with 6-9 years of experience at the University, and who have helped their department through their own personal initiatives and problem-solving capabilities. He also served this past year as interim director for LCE. Those are just some of the many skills Maksymowki utilizes every day when he steps foot on campus.
Maksymowski introduced TEDx to Charlotte as a way to highlight student, staff and alumni voices. TEDx is a program where people passionate about their thoughts and ideas are able to share those feelings on a larger platform like a stage or virtual audience.
“What I love about TED is [people] get there off of the merit of their idea,” Maksymowski said. “It’s a space that equalizes.”
Since implementing TEDx, Maksymowski has been able to make it an ongoing tradition at the University.
“We’ve had five TEDx events now, and the last one had over 200 people in attendance on a Saturday,” Makysmowki said. “They are really fun events, but they are also a great opportunity to platform ideas of the community.”
Maksymowski said he is looking forward to more TEDx events at Charlotte in the future, and working with his colleagues to continue its success. He said it’s important to be able to learn, grow and have fun at the same time.
“The leadership team makes coming to work really easy,” Maksymowski said. “The care we have for each other is amazing and I’m grateful for all [their] support.”
In addition to TEDx, Maksymowski oversees multiple Charlotte leadership programs. Leadership Fellows is a program that teaches tangible leadership skills to sophomores, juniors and non-graduating seniors, and Maksymowski has a key role in making the program flourish.
“I manage everything about it. From the selection of the student coordinators and mentors, to the hand-developed curriculum. We work with partners to make sure the content is geared toward a specific element,” he said. “I always look forward to Leadership Fellows. It’s such a fun space and has a great community behind it.”
LeaderShape is another program at Charlotte that Maksymowski works on. It happens every May in collaboration with other departments on campus, and is an event dedicated to helping students learn how to “lead with integrity.”
For Maksymowski, all of these programs have a lot of moving parts but also a fulfilling outcome.
“Getting to see students blossom and to hear about the impact I’ve had on them is really special,” he said.