When an unexpected injury put a halt to her prospective student athlete career, Steph Polly found herself at a personal crossroads.
“Outside of being a gymnast, I didn’t really know who I was,” said Steph, reflecting on the pivotal moment. “Without gymnastics, I knew I had to get involved in something, so I looked to campus activities.”
She would eventually find Leader Quest, a campus program designed to help juniors and seniors develop their leadership skills and get involved on campus. Participating was only the beginning, as Steph would go on to help transform Leader Quest into what would become the Leadership Minor at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
The Leadership program equipped her with the confidence and vision to trail blaze: “I’ve been the first person in my role at every position of my professional career,” said Steph, reflecting that she remains a lifelong learner and academic at heart.
When it came time for her own daughter, Tayler, to pick a college, UMN was a simple choice; she’d been cheering on the Gophers since she was a baby. Steph wanted Tayler to choose her own adventure at the University, and despite her personal history with the Leadership Minor, Steph was mindful not to push her daughter in one direction or another.
“I wanted her to have her own, self-driven experience,” Steph said, admitting she downplayed her involvement with the Leadership Minor in hopes Tayler would encounter it naturally during her time as a student at the University of Minnesota. In addition to the Leadership Minor, Tayler has also explored leadership and community building through her participation in the Delta Gamma sorority.
When Tayler told her mom that she had learned about the Leadership Minor at Welcome Week and enrolled in the first course without a second thought, Steph was thrilled. In her excitement, she pulled out her original course documents and talked to her daughter about the program she helped build.
Until graduating in Spring 2026, Tayler kept her mom in the loop with Leadership Minor programming, leading to fun conversations where the two compare and contrast their experiences. “It takes a different approach than it did 30 years ago,” said Steph, reflecting on the program’s evolution. While the core classes have stood the test of time, Tayler explained that the foundation of the courses are slightly different due to the way leaders need to show up in today’s world.
As we celebrate this mother-daughter duo on National Parents Day, we’ll leave you with a sentiment expressed by both Tayler and Steph: “The Leadership Minor is much more than an academic minor. You’re taking classes, but more than that, you’re building a community; a network of peers and professional staff who are always rooting for your success.”