Nine students from the University of the Virgin Islands attended the National Conference on Student Leadership held Nov. 1-4, in Orlando, Fla. The students represented the Student Government Associations (SGA) on both UVI campuses.
More than 500 students from the U.S. and around the world – from as far as Saudi Arabia and Guam – participated. The conference is an annual event for UVI students.
During the conference, leaders participated in additional training sessions and successfully completed a comprehensive leadership plan that was considered a road map to address a strategic issue on campus.
In addition to earning NCSL national certification, they participated in additional training sessions. St. Croix SGA members also participated in “30 ideas in 30 minutes,” in which SGA St. Croix President Dixon explained the Shadow Our Students (SOS) Program idea that has been implemented on both campuses over the last six years. The students networked with numerous motivational speakers and session presenters in attendance, including Jon Vroman, Jonathan Sprinkles, Marlon Smith, Stan Pearson II and Tish Norman.
St. Thomas SGA President Kimberlee Smith said she was particularly impressed with the presentation of Jonathan Sprinkles. She also said the students were able do a lot of networking and basic work on public speaking and how to present themselves in a professional manner.
Several conference sessions were designed to directly impact the growth and development of student government, including “Leading From the Front: How Great Leaders Create Sparks that Catch Fire,” “The SALSA: Supporting, Acting, Learning, Striving and Accepting,” and “Life: 5 Steps to Rehearse, Remix and Revive the Way You Lead and Re-energize Your Organization.”
Attending with the students were St. Croix SGA Student Advisor Hedda Finch. From St. Thomas, Charlesworth McCarthy, a graduate assistant working in the student activities area and the SGA advisor, and Mary Myers from the UVI Counseling and Placement Office.
