Becoming a Super Influential Model Leader
KIMBERLY WARREN
THE SIGNAL
UHCL will be hosting its 17th annual Student Leadership Conference Nov. 2. The conference is sponsored by the Student Leadership Involvement and Community Engagement Program (SLICE).
The mission of SLICE is to foster learning and personal development through exploring leadership trends and civic engagement.
This year the conference fundraisers will benefit the National Association of People Against Bullying (NAPAB), a non-profit public benefit foundation whose main focus is to advocate for victims of bullying. The fundraising effort will include raffles and conference CD sales.
The Student Leadership Conference at UHCL is the largest campus-based conference in Texas, and it is open to college students throughout Texas. In the past, there have been as many as 3,000 students in attendance.
Jennifer Clark, assistant director of student life and SLICE, has a team of students who work alongside her to help choose conference themes and speakers.
The keynote speaker this year is Houston’s own Jerome Love. Love is a nationally known motivational speaker and bestselling author. Two of his books are titled “Get up, Get out and Get Something” and “Love Them, Lead Them”.
Before becoming a motivational speaker, Love was an entrepreneur who started his first business at the age of 19.
After spending time with his mentor Jonathan Sprinkle, the keynote speaker at the 15th annual Leadership Conference, Love became a motivational speaker.
Clark explained that during the last few years of the conference, all of the keynote speakers had published books.
“Our goal is to get their message into the hands and that the students have a take away so that they can continue to think about ideas,” Clark said.
Love has his own take on what makes a good leader.
“In order to be a good leader you have to have followers,” Love said.
He also mentioned that becoming a good leader is a process, and it does not happen overnight. Individuals must be persistent in achieving what they want.
“Everybody can be a leader if they get up, get out and get something,” Love said. “Influence people; be the model for followers.”
The layout for the conference will consist of an opening and closing ceremony led by the keynote speaker with two educational sessions in between. With that, attendees have a choice of several different workshops that they can attend.
UHCL alumni, along with others who have attended the conference in previous years, present the workshops. During the conference there will be five tracks available: General student leaders (campus leadership), Leadership in the workplace, Diversity in leadership, Community service leadership, and Advisor and Staff.
A goal of the Student Leadership Conference is to teach individuals the necessary tools to be a superior leader, or a super influential leader.
Darlene Biggers, associate vice president of Student Services, believes that leaders are important in every facet of life.
“We all live in communities that need leaders, and whether it is in our places of worship, schools, or non-profits, they need people who can organize people and lead people for the better good of society,” Biggers said.
For those who are interested in attending the leadership conference, registration is still open. Preregistration ends Oct. 29, onsite registration will be available at the door. The conference is free for all UHCL students with their student ID and $50 for non-UHCL students. Everyone is encouraged to preregister.
To preregister or for any UHCL students interested in volunteering at the conference, email Jennifer Clark at jenclark@uhcl.edu.
