The UNT Center for Leadership and Service, in conjunction with NT40, hosted the All for NT/NT for All Leadership Conference on Oct. 6, enabling 140 students to develop their leadership skills.

This annual conference is focused on the Social Change Model of Leadership where “the term leader is used without regard to a specific role in a group - whether as a positional leader or a participant engaging in the leadership process as a group member (Komives & Wagner, 2009).”

“This year, we put together our very first student planning committee, which allowed our student leadership to share insight on what they would want to see and hear during the 2018 conference,” said Latrice Moore, CLS leadership coordinator. “They also spent valuable time in helping to plan and implement the day of conference activities.”

Committee members included: Stephon Bradberry (Student Government Association and Black Student Union), Emma Sobocinski (NT40), Hunter Coey (National Society of Leadership and Success) and Shaelynn Wolfe (Greek Life).

CLS also collaborated with on-campus partners to offer three pre-conference opportunities: Professional Headshots (DSA Marketing and Communications), Financial Coaching (Student Money Management Center) and Involvement Advising (Student Activities).

The conference featured two morning live Lead x Talk presenters. Dr. Moe McGuinness, dean of students and assistant vice president for student affairs, spoke on the importance of the student voice and how students can find their voice on the UNT campus, and Stephon Bradberry, SGA chief of staff, explained his journey of how he learned to use to his voice to impact change on campus.

A Power Up lunch Panel included UNT alumni Jordan Hall, Ke’Yonna Hall and Kevin Sanders and current UNT student Misaki Collins. In addition, 20 opportunities for breakout sessions were offered, which were organized by three tracks for students to choose from that were focused on Leading Self, Leading at UNT and Leading in a Diverse World. A live social media wall displayed posts using the #UNTChangingTheTide during the conference.

The conference proved to be a valuable experience for all of the student attendees, with one student noting, “I learned more about my leadership type and how to take it and apply it to different aspects of my own leadership technique.”

Another student commented, “I learned to speak out and be more confident about what I have to say.”

Yet another student noted, “I learned about the dangers of being silent on a college campus and in the world. If I do not use my voice to create positive change, then there is no real point in having a voice at all.”

For more information on the Center for Leadership and Service, visit http://studentaffairs.unt.edu/center-for-leadership-and-service.

Visit DSA News for the latest happenings and successes in the Division of Student Affairs.
Contact: Ray Willhoft, 940-565-2464, raymond.willhoft@unt.edu