The weekend of May 25th saw the realization of the 2nd Annual Student Leadership Institute at Humber College - a three day weekend conference for students that was the effort of several months work! The institute was geared towards students who were genuinely interested in learning more about leadership knowledge and practice. One of the great aspects of the weekend, was that it was created in delivered in collaboration with some of Humber’s truly great leaders as part of the SLI Steering Committee and academic community. As part of Humber's academic community, faculty members such as Arthur Lockhart, Alanna Turco, Debra Basch, Ken Wyman, and Rick Simone were all involved in bringing the event to fruition.
The weekend was designed to offer students more opportunities,
workshops, and leadership experience. Students had the chance to meet and
interact with new people – creating what would become a significant piece of the Humber leadership community.
Important to know, is that the Student Leadership Institute (SLI) is offered in a
series of three related events each year, with each event building on previous leadership
concepts. Largely based on the “Social Change Model of Leadership Development,”1
each of the SLI events were created with a focus on individual, group, and
community leadership.
This year’s Student Leadership Institute theme was “Inspire
Change.” With an emphasis on the individual, we wanted to ensure that students were continually reminded of the significance of change. Change is referred to as
“...improving the status quo, creating a better world, and demonstrating a comfort
with transition and ambiguity.”2 As the students embarked on their leadership
experience, we were continually reminding them of the importance to stop and reflect on how they could Inspire Change!
As a new addition to the program, we encouraged both new and seasoned Twitter users
to consider using the social media platform as an educational tool to enhance
their learning experience at the Student Leadership Institute. All events,
keynote speakers, workshops, and roundtables, featured specific default
hashtags which encouraged occasional session tweeting. Attendees could post
useful comments about programs that they were attending, and could also learn from
others in different sessions by searching for an SLI hashtag on Twitter!
Here were a couple of the Student Leadership Institute Highlighted Programs!
Opening Keynote Speaker - Blake Fly
Blake has been a TEDx conference host, a featured TEDx speaker,
and has shared the stage with CBC’s Rick Mercer. He is the author of “Campus Gets Wasted” and Co-Author of “The Art and Science of Success.” He uses music and message to address the needs of students at all levels. He provides ignition for students to do their best in every transition. He shares the power of positive peer pressure to combat that otherwise negative social force (peer pressure).
Aboriginal Opening Event
The Aboriginal
Opening Event was brought to the students by Aboriginal Student Services at Humber College. The event intended to teach students about Aboriginal culture through
MC narration, as well as to showcase cultural dancing and drumming.
Closing Keynote Speaker - Joel Hilchey
 |
| Joel Hilchey |
Leadership expert Joel Hilchey is the founder of The
Beanstalk Project, an organization offering schools and communities creative,
project-based programs to get more students more involved. He teaches at
McMaster University, and he has spoken at conferences, schools, and events
across North America, creating social change by juggling, storytelling, and
playing with mousetraps. Seriously.
I would like to thank all of the members who formed this
year’s Steering Committee and the Student Life Programs Team who worked so hard
to bring the Student Leadership Institute to fruition! We couldn’t have done it
without the support of our sponsors – The Humber Students’ Federation, Peer
Programs, Aboriginal Student Services, and The Department of Student Success
& Engagement – Thank You for all
of your contributions, hard work, and inspiration!
If you have questions about the Student Leadership Institute program at Humber College, please contact Phil Legate at:
Phil Legate, BSc, BEd
Coordinator, Student Leadership Programs
Student Success & Engagement
Humber College, Toronto, ON
416-675-6622 ext. 4816, D149
phil.legate@humber.ca
References
Excellent blog you’ve got here.. It’s difficult to find high-quality writing like yours nowadays. I really appreciate individuals like you! Take care!! You can visit my site.
ReplyDeleteleadership training in toronto