One of the goals of the Student Development area of the Center for Multicultural Advancement and Student Success (CMASS) is to give University of Massachusetts students the opportunity to attend national student leadership conferences held throughout the country each year.
Conferences are geared towards enhancing student leadership ability through workshops, seminars, panel discussions and networking opportunities. This academic year, a group of 16 UMass students were selected to attend the Circle of Change Leadership Conference in Long Beach, Calif. from Oct. 21-23, 2011.
The Circle of Change Conference targets “America’s Next Top Leaders,” and provides a professional atmosphere to engage with other future leaders and learn from current leaders. Bridging this gap between the emerging and seasoned leaders allows students to reflect on how we should prepare for and prioritize our personal and professional goals.
We met at 3 a.m. at the Haigis Mall on the morning of our flight. Members of our group connected to one another almost automatically because we were excited about the upcoming conference.
From the moment we arrived, the conference engaged us in ice-breaking activities that allowed us to meet other amazing student leaders. At this time we realized we were the only group of students not from California. Being the lone out-of-state group made us unique, and we were not only excited to represent CMASS and UMass, but also serve as East coast representatives. We showed our spirit throughout the weekend and represented UMass with our responsibility, high energy, and engagement.
We all kept our focus and were determined to get the most we could out of this rare opportunity.
The first half of both days consisted of a series of workshops that were facilitated by seasoned professionals and entrepreneurs in various fields, including entertainment, education and business. The workshops focused on issues like workplace diversity, strength-based talents and multicultural approaches to management, just to name a few. The second half of each day consisted of panel discussions with top executives from major companies, like NBC, Columbia Pictures and the president of UPS’ Central California district, Noel Massie, as well as other successful multi-millionaire entrepreneurs.
During these sessions, facilitators addressed important questions about the route to success, as well as personalized questions from students. It was empowering to learn that there are seasoned leaders that take an interest in our generation’s well-being and success.
In addition to the panel discussions and workshops that were the foundation of the conference, there were several keynote speakers who discussed the meaning of leadership and how to attain and enhance leadership skills through several “recipes for success.”
Speakers encouraged the group to dress professionally, read books about business strategies, make connections with as many people as possible, project a positive and confident attitude and be prepared for interviews by researching the company, among other things. Most importantly, the speakers expressed the significance of being a diverse leader in today’s global society, the importance of seeing oneself as a “brand” and how the reputation of that brand should be built on ethics and helping others – the only true route to sustained and effective leadership.
We found the keynote speakers to be inspiring and the workshop sessions and panels to be educational and informative. Most of us took notes about useful strategies, knowledge and experiences that we could bring back with us to UMass to help us grow as leaders in our courses, jobs and student organizations. Another essential purpose of the conference was to network.
We even got the chance to meet the founders of the conference, Joshua Fredenburg and Mark Hartley, and speak with them one-on-one. One major opportunity to collaborate was the case study competition, which allowed us to work with other students from diverse backgrounds to create and present a potential solution for an existing social problem that we might be exposed to or affected by as students. We were all proud of our very own Dina Sandakli, when she exemplified the UMass/CMASS spirit of leadership and intelligence by winning the case study competition.
All the elements of the conference helped us develop a clearer idea of what leadership is and what it will mean to us both now and in the future. Although students were sad to leave California and the networking contacts we had met, we left with enhanced skills, a newfound perspective on our future careers and lives, and most importantly, professional relationships that we could build on. I look forward to the lasting effects that the conference will have on my own and the other participants’ lives and professional growth and am grateful for the unique opportunity presented by CMASS.
Aaron Cope and Krysten Lobisch are guest columnists. They can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected].
