Workshop Block #1
21st Century Leadership

Become Your Own Brand Workshop

Dar Mayweather, University of North Carolina Wilmington
This workshop gives participants the opportunity to work through steps from the keynote in group discussion and activities. You will receive a workbook to discuss and identify values, career goals, and entry points into your desired profession. You will create a strategy to pursue your vision and values and envision a brand image that connects with top companies across the country!

Core Genius: Debunking the Biggest Myth of Leadership

Joe Urbanski, Collegiate Empowerment
Let’s debunk the myth that all leaders are created alike and must learn to lead in the same way. In fact, there are four unique types of leaders, each providing their own solutions to the world: direction, confidence, capability, and structure. These are the four profiles of Core Genius, and for you to lead in your most natural way possible, you’ve got to go on a picnic. That’s right: we’re going on a picnic in this session to figure out how the world needs you to lead instead of trying to create a one-size-fits-all approach for leadership and talent development. During this full-on engaging and hilarious keynote, you will learn strategies for improving your communication, teamwork, and overall organizational development.
Champion sports teams do it. Successful musical groups do it. Professional experts do it. Global leaders do it. It’s your turn to learn the secret. It’s time we adopted a new model to focus on your Core Genius, because life’s too short to do it any other way.
Learning outcomes:

  • Dissect the four myths of leadership that decrease student engagement.
  • Identify and understand the four Core Genius profiles of student leaders to enhance collaboration.
  • Apply strategies for empowering student leaders and sustaining productive teams.

Workshop Block #2
Leadership for Change and Inclusivity

#StopAAPIHate: How You Can Support Asian American and Pacific Islander Leadership and Inclusivity

Michiko Kealoha, Cañada College
What are AAPI students, staff, and faculty experiencing during the pandemic with #StopAAPIHate? What leadership is needed on campus? How are these experiences linked to a long history in our communities? How can we as leaders better understand and support our Asian and Asian American community on campus?
Learning outcomes:

  • Understand AAPI leadership, which is often rendered invisible in leadership and higher education.
  • Become familiar with Anti-Asian history, both past and present, to better understand and challenge anti-Asian racism during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Know how to be an ally and leader with the AAPI community.

Courageous Conversations! Cultivating a Climate of Civility, Respect, and Inclusion

Dr. Jermaine Davis
Are offensive comments, inappropriate behaviors, and disrespect interfering with your ability to communicate, cooperate, and collaborate with others? When toxic behaviors persist, going unacknowledged and unmanaged, trust, morale, and motivation quickly erode. We cannot escape conflicts and disagreements in our personal and professional lives. But we can learn to deal with them more effectively by learning how to engage in courageous conversations and lean into difficult dialogues with competence, confidence, and diplomacy.
How do you manage emotions when they run high? Have you ever heard that you shouldn’t discuss race, religion, or politics? Well, what do you do when these conversations organically emerge? Do you welcome and embrace them? Or do you run and hide? Those who live, lead, and work with an inclusive lens create brave and safe spaces for courageous conversations.
Learning outcomes:

  • Create brave and safe spaces for honest, open, and transparent dialogues.
  • Manage their emotions and thoughts before and during courageous conversations.
  • Stay centered and honor their baseline to communicate courageously.
  • Respond effectively to inappropriate and offensive behaviors, words, and comments.
  • Create rules for engagement to improve and increase civility, respect, and inclusion.
  • Cultivate high levels of trust with others using the Interpersonal Trust Equation.

Workshop Block #3
Communication for Leaders:

Influencing Up, Down, and Across Your College Campus

Dr. Jermaine Davis
Can you effectively influence up, down, and across your college campus? Do people really listen when you talk? Can you assess a situation quickly and adapt your message to accomplish your communication and leadership goals? Do you know how to authentically motivate and inspire others to take positive action across your college campus?
In his engaging presentation, Dr. Jermaine will share his latest research on how leaders can use the principles and practices of communication and influence to increase team collaboration and institutional effectiveness. This presentation is based on Dr. Jermaine’s bestselling book, Leading with Greatness! Moving from Chaos and Conflict to Communication and Cooperation.
Get ready to laugh, learn, and of course have fun!
Learning outcomes:

  • Motivate others using the practices of relationship-based and task-based leadership
  • Create an authentic leadership brand using the likeability factor
  • Build a culture of appreciation and celebration using the R.A.P. philosophy
  • Rebuild and restore employee and leadership trust using the 4 As approach
  • Lead with positivity and optimism by using facilitative emotions
  • Communicate effectively and efficiently as a leader using the carpenter’s rule

Level Up Your Communication Skills

Rockell Bartoli, Professional Speaker, Author, and Scholarship Coach
Are you looking to level up your communication skills so you feel confident enough to articulate your vision, communicate with others, and encourage people to join you on your mission? Well, you’ve come to the right place. In this session, you will learn how to fine-tune how you currently communicate so you can confidently show up and make an impact.
Learning outcomes:

  • Identify how you communicate through your personality.
  • Learn how to develop specific traits that lead to effective communication.
  • Identify ways to become a confident communicator.

How to Fully Engage Your Followers as a Student Leader

Geo Derice, 20/20 Living Inc.
What is the difference between a student leader others love and a student leader others hate? Today everyone wants to be a leader, but unfortunately, not everyone understands the key to becoming the kind of leader others will follow.
Many people follow leaders because they have to follow them, but that creates an environment or culture of obligation, which leads to many bitter and unhappy people.
But when you lead in such a way that followers want to be led, you will have a culture of excitement and joy, and you will see a major increase in productivity.
Students will walk away with the major ingredients that top effective leaders use to run small and large organizations alike, making them valuable both in and outside the classroom.
Learning outcomes:

  • Discover your most effective leadership trait so you can influence others at a higher level.
  • Identify the common mistake leaders make that limits their leadership impact and how to fix it.
  • Define the keys to building instant rapport with your followers so everyone feels seen, felt, and heard, which leads to more productivity and higher engagement.

Workshop Block #4
Networking

Cultivating Connections and Building Better Relationships

Jennifer Valtos, Life University
Leaders are often called on to engage with others in environments that can be extremely beneficial or potentially harmful. What would your relationships be like if you could interact with others in a way that avoided actions and attitudes that could cause harm? What if you could learn to cultivate actions and attitudes that helped others? How might your relationships improve if you were able to look at them through a lens of impartiality and common humanity—maybe even filtered by gratitude or empathy? This session will look at relationships and share concrete tools to cultivate connections with others, even those you have just met or with whom you may have a difficult past. You will have an opportunity to receive information regarding impartiality and common humanity (with a brief nod to gratitude and empathy). We’ll discuss how you can use these skills to cultivate connections with others. You will also have an opportunity to engage in activities with other participants as you practice some of the skills you learn.
Learning outcomes:

  • You will explore some of our commonalities as human beings and begin to explore the concept of impartiality.
  • You will learn how to cultivate gratitude and the benefits of gratitude by exploring interdependence.
  • You will explore the practice of “just like me” as a way to cultivate connections with others and begin to build better relationships.

My “Perfect Pitch” Was Step Two to Creating My Empire

Khalyn Williams, The Student Success Network (TSSN)
Students across the globe know how crucial networking is during college. But many of us don’t know where to begin, how to launch and maintain powerful relationships, how to benefit from it, or even what to say. Networking was designed to join parties together to collaborate on like-minded missions. Students will learn the evolution of traditional networking to networking with a “perfect pitch” approach using self-mastery and discovering three important framework questions. After going through this power session, students will find authentic pitch mechanisms and strategies to create genuine connections.
Learning outcomes:

  • Describe the difference between traditional pitches and the “perfect pitch” framework.
  • Grasp the concept of the “map” and construct their own personal map.
  • Create and strategize the power list and power plan to use for networking (during and outside the conference).

Anatomy of Mentorship

Liska Wilson, She’s a Boss
Mentors are essential parts of the networks of great leaders, but for even the most adept student leaders, building connections (i.e., networking) can be an elusive and intimidating feat, especially intentional connections off campus with professionals in their field. When the primary mentors for students are their already busy and often overworked professors, finding career-elevating mentors as a student can be a challenge. In this session, I walk students through identifying what they need in a mentor (or mentors), networking strategies for finding them, and two frameworks for building impactful relationships with them. Students will leave with easy-to-implement next steps for wherever they are in their networking or mentorship journey.
Learning outcomes:

  • Understand what a mentor is and how it benefits you as a student leader.
  • Identify what you (as a student leader) need in a mentor-mentee relationship and how to find mentors who fit those needs.
  • Learn and practice how to build and grow a relationship with a mentor, from networking to mentorship to sponsorship.

Supercharge Your Networking Game with Podcasts

Geo Derice, 20/20 Living Inc.
Proximity is power. According to the great motivational speaker Tony Robbins, the power of a leader is tied to the network they are a part of. So how does one get tied to a more powerful network? By starting a podcast! Podcasting is an incredible tool you can use to supercharge your ability to create meaningful connections and build impactful relationships. In this session, you’ll learn why podcasting is the secret sauce your networking efforts are missing.
Learning outcomes:

  • Write clear and concise pitches to land prominent guests on your podcasts.
  • Examine holes in your current networking approaching and construct a strategic way to use podcasting to solve it.
  • Recognize how having meaningful conversations with experts can expand your knowledge and position you to lead others better.

Workshop Block #5
Life Skills and Personal Development

Embracing Ambiguity

Cybel Betancourt, Buenas Cosas LLC
Being a leader in an ever-changing world can be difficult; it requires a set of skills that prepare you for the unknown. Being adaptable, having a growth mindset, and embracing failure are but a few of these. Are you ready to dive deep into what awaits you beyond college? Let us learn together how embracing ambiguity can help you prepare for what lies ahead.
Learning outcomes:

  • Understand how an ever-changing world can become an opportunity for personal growth.
  • Develop mindful mentalities with growth mindset skills.
  • Asses what you need to do to be ready for an unknown future.

Becoming Limitless in Life

Khalyn Williams, The Student Success Network (TSSN)
College is the ideal time for a person to explore, discover, and learn about themselves. This session is meant to fill the large gap about personal self-improvement to create a more fulfilling lifestyle for students both now and later. To become “limitless,” we must know how to be intentional with our days, weeks, months, and years from start to finish. Becoming limitless is not about getting all the rewards as a result of having control over your mental and physical body; rather, it is about personal discovery from the perspective of intentional living practices. Students are bound to leave the workshop with a fresh lens on what they bring to the table (good, bad, decent) and how they can take steps to be better every day. This will allow them to go into life with the mental stamina needed to handle every lesson they will eventually learn.
Learning outcomes:

  • Understand the beginning stages of intentional living.
  • Assess the concepts of knowing and affirming yourself, then propose your current status to launch into personal development after the session.
  • Review your interpersonal mental stamina to begin self-improvement after the session.

Practical Ambition: You Can’t Lead Others until You First Lead Yourself

Joe Urbanski, Collegiate Empowerment
There are more than 20 popular goal-setting methods, and most of them are lackluster, overstuffed, overcomplicated, and boring. Even smart goals are boring—unless they are tied to a fascinating vision. This session focuses on the individual leader and taps into their power of personal vision and goal-setting. Once you are equipped to lead yourself, you will feel empowered to lead your organization and take your campus to astounding new heights. Don’t settle for simply hoping you hit the ground running after setting a goal; get empowered to fly!
Learning outcomes:

  • Start with roles: who you are to yourself and your VIPs.
  • Clarify your goals: the aims or results linked to your roles.
  • Commit to controls: the power to influence your behavior and results.

One Reason Why Not: Tricks for Mental Health and Well-Being

Meg Stier, Collegiate Empowerment
Widespread stress, anxiety, online harassment, depression, suicide, substance abuse, addiction, and shootings have people thinking that life is hopeless. But it’s not. While the world may give you 13 reasons why you should feel uncared for, not valued, disrespected, or unworthy, all you need is one reason why not.
Mental health challenges are a leading obstacle facing today’s college students and are associated with a lower GPA and higher probability of dropping out of school. Treatment is effective and available, yet because of an unnecessary shame surrounding these issues, mental health isn’t openly discussed, and too many students are suffering in silence.
Mental health concerns are prevalent among college students: an estimated 26 percent of Americans ages 18 and older—or about one in four adults—live with a diagnosable mental health disorder. Mental health concerns affect students’ ability to succeed: more than 80 percent of college students felt overwhelmed by all they had to do in the past year, and 45 percent felt things were hopeless. Mental health concerns can be deadly: suicide is the second-leading cause of death among college students, claiming the lives of 1,100 students each year. Yet there is hope.
Because of more than two decades of work with over 1.8 million college students, we have been at the forefront of helping college students tackle some of the most difficult challenges they face during their collegiate career. Through thousands of hours of practical application of working with both students and higher education professionals, Collegiate Empowerment has developed 1 Reason Why Not to help students and universities overcome mental health challenges.

Workshop Block #6
Self-Care and Wellness

Ten-Plus Tools

Jennifer Valtos, Life University
Have you ever experienced individuals who manage to “push your buttons,” perhaps on a regular basis? This individual knows just how to work your last, potentially frayed nerve. If you have ever faced this situation, how have you responded? Do you wish you had responded differently? Looking back, did you wish you had some skills you could have used to perhaps respond in a more beneficial manner? This session will provide you with information and concrete tools that can help you calm your body and mind to respond to difficult situations. Learning these skills may benefit not only you but also the other person(s) involved in the situation.
Learning outcomes:

  • You will learn how to define your resilient zone as well as skills to return to it when you move outside of it.
  • You will be able to define the different parts of the autonomic nervous system.
  • You will learn 10-plus concrete skills to help calm your body and mind.

Leading on Empty

Rockell Bartoli, Professional Speaker, Author, and Scholarship Coach
If you want to lead others effectively, then you must continue to focus on your most important asset: yourself. Too often, we add more to our plate and serve from a place of being overwhelmed and exhausted. So let’s move from leading on empty to leading with energy, wholeness, and consistently taking care of ourselves.
Learning outcomes:

  • Categorize activities and things that lead to feeling empty and how to reverse that.
  • Identify how to turn self-care and mental wellness into a habit.
  • Create a plan for implementing self-care into your lifestyle.

Let’s Recharge!

Cybel Betancourt, Buenas Cosas LLC
Are you feeling drained every day? Exhausted and mentally incapable of concentrating? Do you feel proud of how busy you are or ashamed for not accomplishing what you set out to do? You could be suffering from a lack of energy. This is not healthy—so let’s recharge! This interactive experience will share tools to help you build your mind, body, and soul. It will help you identify what drains you, and you will learn techniques that will energize you when needed the most.
Learning outcomes:

  • Assess and pinpoint what depletes your energy.
  • Acquire and share techniques that will help you recharge your mind, body, and soul.
  • Design a plan that adapts to your everyday needs.