Ryan Titus, a finance and marketing sophomore, taught basic mathematics to Somali adults through a program offered at the Carlson School of Management.

“They were 30 to 40 years old and depending on me,” he said.

The Emerging Leaders Program allows Carlson School students to learn outside the classroom.

Brent Opall, an associate academic adviser for the Carlson School undergraduates and the Emerging Leaders Program coordinator, said the program has been at the Carlson School for approximately seven years.

The program is available to all Carlson School students and is a requirement for the honors students.

Opall said he enjoys working with the program because it incorporates the classroom with the rest of the world.

For Titus, the most memorable part of the program was satisfying the diversity requirement.

He said he was under a lot of pressure and really uncomfortable with his teaching situation at first. But he said he learned the most from it in the end.

Now, he’s finished the first level of the program. To complete the level, he fulfilled requirements in four areas of emphasis: leadership, community service, diversity and development.

Finally, he said, he gave a presentation in front of Carlson School alumni, faculty members, staff members and business professionals who determined if he completed the first level of the program.

“For the presentation, you put together a packet of everything you’ve learned,” Titus said.

Samantha Muraski, a finance sophomore, said that she also learned a lot while satisfying the diversity requirement.

“I was interacting in a completely different situation than what I am used to,” she said.

Muraski said she also learned quite a bit from the career-development portion of the program.

Talking with business professionals helped her shape her career plans, she said.

While observing the presentations of other students, she said, she noticed every participant interprets the program’s experiences differently.

But Jordan Baskett-Pee, a management junior, said the program doesn’t teach Carlson School students how to communicate with one another.

“(That) is what Carlson students lack most, and communication is the most important part of leadership,” he said.

Anne Davis, an accounting sophomore, said she appreciated the program so much she became vice president of the program for the Carlson Honors Board.

The position makes her responsible for all the students enrolled in the program, she said.

She answers questions students have about the program, helps them find opportunities to fulfill the requirements and guides them in building their presentations, Davis said.

She has also given presentations on the program to other schools, Davis said.

“The Emerging Leaders Program is very unique among other schools,” she said.