Captains Again Dominate Global Leadership Conference - Christopher Newport University Visit Apply Tuition Give Jobs myCNU News 2025 October Captains Again Dominate Global Leadership Conference Captains Again Dominate Global Leadership Conference CNU teams win gold and silver at overseas event by Kelli Caplan | October 31, 2025 For the third straight year, a team of Captains has won gold in the prestigious International Leadership Association’s Student Case Study Competition, rising above teams from across the globe and extending Christopher Newport’s victory streak. Three CNU teams competed at the international gathering held this year in Prague, Czechia. The Captains not only won, but also proudly tied for second place. It was the first time Christopher Newport had two teams in the competition’s final round. The success of the teams continues a winning legacy, as CNU has earned first place in the competition in six of the last eight years. Christopher Newport teams have made the final round of the competition for the last 11 years. Fiona St. Clair, who was captain of the winning team, said the victory in Prague was nothing short of incredible. “It feels amazing to take home gold once again for CNU and PLP, and it makes me really proud to be part of an organization that allows me and my peers to participate in such amazing events and show off what CNU is all about,” said St. Clair, ‘26 Marketing and Management. The ILA conference, according to Dr. Brent Cusher, chair of the Department of Leadership and American Studies, “is considered the most important for leadership studies in the world.” “This is a record-breaking accomplishment for our students and for CNU. Despite being one of the ‘youngest’ leadership studies and development programs, our students are respected because they have a distinctive ability to integrate theory with practical application. This sets us and our students apart,” said Lacey Grey Hunter, director of the President’s Leadership Program. For the competition, each team was asked to develop a real-world case study focused on the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal of decent work and economic growth. Team members then took a deep dive into the systematic leadership complexities associated with their chosen problem and proposed a leadership solution to provide a significant societal change. Bringing home gold and silver was beyond rewarding for the 10 students, who worked for months preparing their case studies for the conference. “Learning that my team had received first place was an incredible, almost cathartic moment, because of the hours of time we had invested in this study,” said Jewel Yarney, ‘28 Spanish. Being able to compete in Prague made it even more special. The conference was attended by more than 700 scholars, consultants, and practitioners in the leadership field from around the world. The winning team’s focus was adaptive leadership for sustainable forest management in the Carpathian Forest of Romania, which included not only taking into consideration Romania’s post-communist values but also creating a mathematical index to help mitigate illegal logging practices in the country. The second-place team’s case study centered on Kurdish inclusion in the Turkish economy, in part by helping groups in the country who are at odds resolve conflict through a four-step program focused on consultation, conciliation, collaboration, and creation. The teams worked with faculty and staff from both Leadership Studies and the President's Leadership Program to ready themselves for the competition. They also turned to outside sources for information to cover every angle and to become as educated as possible about their subject matters. “All three of our teams did an incredible amount of research leading up to the competition," said Victoria Carrico, assistant director of PLP. “They treated it like a marathon.” The teams, she said, invested a huge amount of time in the research, making sure they "pushed themselves to produce something exceptional,” Carrico said. “They’re not afraid to take risks. Rather than picking straightforward topics they knew they could solve, our teams tackled complex, nuanced issues that didn’t have easy answers. That willingness to take on a true challenge really stood out to the judges,” she said. The University focuses heavily on leadership, and prides itself on preparing students to be leaders as they embark on their careers. The emphasis on leadership education came through strongly at the competition. “The quality of our students’ work was incredibly impressive, which goes to show how special the leadership program at CNU really is. Our students have a grasp of leadership theory and application that rivals doctoral students, and that expertise was clearly demonstrated in their presentations,” Carrico said. Read more like this Academics News For the media Archives Categories All Categories Academics Alumni Community Captains Faculty Research and Creative Activity Inclusion and Belonging Internships Institute for Public Humanities News Scholarship Service Student Life Study Abroad Student Research and Creative Activity Sustainability Strategic Compass Advance Build Connect Create The Arts at CNU Departments All Departments Biology Chemistry and Environmental Science College of Arts and Humanities College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences College of Social Sciences Communication Communications and Public Relations Economics Fine Art and Art History History Honors Program Leadership and American Studies LifeLong Learning Society Luter School of Business Mathematics Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Molecular Biology and Chemistry Music Music, Theatre and Dance Neuroscience Organismal and Environmental Biology Philosophy and Religion Political Science Pre-Law Pre-Med and Pre-Health Presidents Leadership Program Presidents Office Psychology School of Engineering and Computing School of the Arts Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Teacher Preparation Program Theatre and Dance Torggler Fine Arts Center Wason Center for Civic Leadership Have a story idea? Let us know quick edit report a problem