Nicholls State’s Dr. Murphy talks leadership at JROTC Military Ball

The Donaldsonville High School Air Force JROTC program hosted its annual Military Ball Saturday, March 7 at Palazzo Bernardo’s.

Nicholls State University President Dr. Bruce Murphy spoke as the featured guest. Dr. Murphy is retired lieutenant colonel, who spent 23 years in the U.S. Army, serving in Germany, Panama and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. His wife, retired U.S. Army Col. Jeanne Picariello Murphy, attended the banquet as well.

Other guests included, Donaldsonville Mayor Leroy Sullivan and the DHS administration.

Dr. Murphy talked from experience when he shared his thoughts on leadership. He definition of the term leadership to be, “a process of influencing human behavior to achieve goals of the organizational prescribed leader.”

He also talked about a manager being very similar to a leader except it influences non-human behavior to achieve goals.

“Leaders have to be managers and managers have to be leaders,” Dr. Murphy said.

He told the cadets some leaders are born and some are made, but a program like JROTC is designed to help “develop you as a leader and a manager."

“One day you will live your own leadership stories. Remember them and share them,” Dr. Murphy said.

The cadets at the Military Ball also got a chance to win door prizes, where Rwanda Breaux won a 42-inch flat screen television.