Hudson Valley students find inspiration at leadership conference

Bintou Cisse

Staff Writer

Eight students and their advisors attended the National Conference on Student Leadership held in Orlando, from Nov. 20 to Nov. 24. SAll the students attended by sending a request to the student activities office to be a part of the conference. All who did who attended are engaged on this campus either as a senator or as a member of a club.

The trip was funded by Student Activities funds.

The group left Thursday morning and returned Sunday night via Albany International Airport. Back on campus Monday, they recalled their experience.

“[It] was an amazing experience and a great way to build connections,” said student senate member Amanda Coughlin.

The NCSL is a biannual event held in the spring and fall. According to the NCSL website, the event usually brings together hundreds of students from across the country. Hosted by entrepreneurs, public speakers or motivational gurus, the goals of this meeting are to educate, inspire and empower students.

“I had never been to a huge workshop prior to the NCSL.It was very life-changing for me. I learned things both personally, professionally and educationally,” said student senate treasurer Fanny Motey.

“The workshops exceeded my expectations. The speakers were great and the activities were beneficial,” said student senate president Grace Harrison.

Some of the activities focused on encouraging students to go beyond their boundaries. Others urged them to wisely use social media to communicate. For example, each morning at breakfast, a reward was offered to the students who had talked the most online about the event the previous day.

The NCSL conference took place at a Disney hotel.

“Disney World added to the excitement,” said Harrison.

One of the NCSL’s goals was to incite participating students to take action once back at their respective colleges. In Hudson Valley’s case, new ideas are already blossoming.

“The conference inspired me to start a new project. I plan on introducing and bringing to life a ‘Cultural Pride Day,’” said Motey.

“I would like to further support our Monday leadership workshops here on our campus and bring pertinent NCSL workshops and speakers to campus so that the greater student body could be included. I’m confident that such programs increase school spirit and benefit both individual students, as well as our campus community,” said Harrison.

The next NCSL is planned for Mar. 26-28, 2015, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.