On March 7, SDSU’s 17th annual Leadership Summit Conference, themed “Voices of Change,” was held in the Conrad Prebys Student Union. More than 400 guests from 21 different schools and institutions gathered to learn from a variety of speakers about the power of community leadership.
Chris Udo, a fourth-year double majoring in business management and leadership studies, came back for his third leadership summit. “Every single year there’s new leaders with new different leadership styles that I’m trying to learn from,” Udo said. “Every year you come back there’s more you learn from the peers that you might work with in the future.”
The conference included breakout room sessions with workshops led by professionals, an alumni panel and speeches from SDSU student keynote speakers Ethan Van Boerum and Grace Johnson, who shared their unique experiences in leadership roles.
Student speakers took to the stage of Montezuma Theater to share their experience in leadership roles.
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Ethan Van Boerum spoke on the importance of forming deep and authentic relationships in your community and workplace, a lesson he gained from something as simple as sharing fried chicken with a stranger.
Ethan Van Boerum, one of the student keynote speakers. (Tabitha Woods)
Van Boerum, a third-year studying marine biology, volunteers in the ICU at Sharp Hospital. He spoke on how his first day volunteering was nerve-wracking, as one may expect. However, the ultimate ice breaker was when a fellow volunteer offered up KFC in the break room, allowing Van Boerum to learn more about the people and the roles in the hospital.
“While [the volunteer] thought that he was just giving me chicken, what he was really doing was showing me that meaningful connections can be made anywhere, whether that be in the break room or the operating room,” Van Boerum said. “Creating meaningful connections can lead to unforeseen opportunities.”
He encouraged his audience to break out of their comfort zone when meeting new people or joining new clubs. “Society encourages us to use basic pleasantries because they’re easy, but if you challenge yourself to dig deeper, it will start to become more natural.”
Grace Johnson, a fourth-year studying public health, shared her struggles in leadership during high school and how those experiences allowed her to become a stronger leader.
As class president, she was leading her school through a time of scandals, hardships and an overwhelming amount of local news coverage.
“There wasn’t any leadership training that prepared me to guide the student body through two students and two teacher deaths,” Johnson said.
She struggled with a lack of proper support and trust from one particular advisor.
“After being torn down by the person I considered to be my favorite role model in high school, I swore off leadership,” Johnson said. “I didn’t trust myself to be a strong leader if I couldn’t identify strong leaders.”
Over time, Johnson found herself assimilating into leadership roles that empowered her once again, including working up to be the executive director of Dance Marathon at SDSU.
“As tough as this position was, it healed a part of me that had been lost in high school,” Johnson said.
She got to lead Dance Marathon’s recent event that raised over $235,000 for Rady’s Children’s Hospital, a $25,000 increase from last year.
“I think it’s empowering to see yourself as a role model and to want to have a legacy,” Johnson said. “I hope I’m teaching people to want to leave their organization or their position better than when they found it.”
Grace Johnson, the second student keynote speaker. (Tabitha Woods)
The conference’s breakout room sessions dove into an array of topics surrounding where and how to apply leadership skills, such as leading through a multicultural lens, leading with a trauma-informed approach or even how to leverage your leadership skills in the job search.
Maddie Van Boerum, a first-year studying international business in Spanish, hit the ground running when she came to SDSU, wasting no time to get involved on campus — just like her brother. For Maddie, the Leadership Summit was an opportunity to grow her roots.
“I want to make a bunch of connections so that it’s easier to try and get a job in the future,” she said. “And I just want to have a bunch of friends everywhere so that I can just know everyone everywhere because I think it’s amazing.”
Talk about a dynamic duo. For Maddie Van Boerum (right), her brother has played an inspirational role introducing her to new opportunities for involvement on campus. (Tabitha Woods)