*In this photo:* A group of University administrators shared their experiential perspectives on the topic leadership legacy and leadership excellence during the first day of the Feb. 16-17 EMPOWER Student Leadership Conference in the MLK Jr. Student Center.

On Campus

EMPOWER Student Leadership Conference held

Friday, February 17, 2023

University’s Office of Undergraduate Research, Experiential Learning and Honors (URELAH) hosted a Feb. 16-17 EMPOWER Student Leadership Conference in the MLK Jr. Student Center on campus.

The two-day conference kicked off with its keynote speaker Rahshib Thomas, the Chief Leadership Minster of RT Consulting and the author of Bout That Life – Leadership Lessons for the Urban Professional. Rahshib Thomas of RT Consulting served as the keynote speaker and also as a panel discussion facilitator during the conference.

“Your point of power are the choices they make each and every day,” Mr. Thomas said. “Are they transforming toward their best life or away from their best life.”

The keynote speaker also shared the four “P”s of Power: “Planning, Practices, Processes and the People they have surrounding their life.”

The conference included a panel discussion on “Leading with a Legacy – Leading with Excellence.” The panelist were Shonda Poe, Director of URELAH; Ondrea Murphy, Executive Director of Library Services; College of Business Dean Michael Casson; Dr. Jason Bourke, Program Director of the MPA Program, and Kevin Noriega, Director of the Opportunity Scholars Program.

On Feb. 17, there was a Student Panel Discussion on “We Made It – the Campaign Trail and Beyond” The panelist were current undergraduate students Asya Jones, Jonte Simmons; Dionne Williams (Ph.D. candidate and President of the University’s Graduate Student Association; as well as alumni Alex Hackett, ’16, Alexis Sanchez, ‘22, and Dionne Williams, .

The Feb. 16 networking lunch featured a mini-session facilitated by Darion K. Akins, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, who currently serves as a Diplomat-in-Residence for the area that includes the Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

There were also breakout session on a wide variety of leadership topics throughout the two day-conference.

For more info about the conference, go to https://empower-urelah.my.canva.site/slc2023.