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Student Leadership Conference a Huge Success (Aug. 2011)

Ethics Matters – August 2011

Twenty-one college students attended the inaugural NASBA CPT Student Leadership Conference held in conjunction with the NASBA Eastern Regional Meeting in Point Clear, Alabama.  This day and a half event exposed students to a variety of leadership development workshops designed to broaden their understanding of accountability, communications, personality traits and career awareness. As a result of the sessions, attendees  increased their awareness of the importance of ethical behavior and transparency.   Students were also given the unique opportunity to meet and network with the NASBA Regional Meeting participants.

Students represented schools such as the University of New Mexico,  Albequerque, NM, Denver University, Denver, Colorado, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN,  Baruch College, NY, NY, Elon University, Elon, NC, Lipscomb University, Nashville, TN, Winthrop University, Rocky Hill, SC, and Birmingham Southern, Birmingham, AL, to name a few.

1mon_0055Featured speakers included Linda Galindo, author of The 85% Solution: How Personal Accountability Guarantees Success; Robert Chandler, Director of Nicholson School of Communication; Alfonzo Alexander, NASBA Chief Relationship Officer; Julie Peters, Faculty Relations Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers; Elizabeth Wallin, Senior Tax Manager at Deloitte Tax LLP; Jennifer Bouchard, CPT Manager of Programs; Jack Faris, retired CEO of National Federation of Independent Business and Lisa Axisa, CPT Executive Director and Vice President.

1mon_0012From Galindo, the students learned that personal accountability is critical to success and that culture competence plays a big role in this world, with 90 percent representing awareness. Chandler’s presentation focused on vocabulary and how it leads into communication. He stressed the model, "Seek first to understand, then seek to be understood." Alexander’s True Colors session was interactive and introduced the students to four distinct personality traits and paired them based on their most dominant and least dominate traits. Wallin and Peters led a riveting panel discussion on transitioning from college to corporate America. Bouchard led a discussion on effective resume and interviewing skills. The conference came to close with a discussion on ethics led by Faris and a closing wrap-up with Axisa.

1mon_0080All participants expressed great appreciation to NASBA and the CPT for hosting the event and inviting them to participate.  The students found the training as well as the networking activities timely and beneficial to their growth as young professionals.  One student noted in her written evaluation," The speakers were very beneficial. The best thing about them was that I felt I could apply their lessons to my life, academically and professionally, as well as personally.  Another student noted, "I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. I knew we’d be sitting through workshops, but the speakers we had exceeded my expectations. I also hadn’t expected to have as much fun as I did. I had fun learning, hanging out with my peers, and meeting professionals. I felt that having all three was a very valuable experience."

They created friendships, learned about NASBA and left planning a reunion.

[View photo gallery from the Student Leadership Conference]

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