Members of AFS were invited to attend the inaugural, two-day Embark Leadership Summit this summer. The conference was organized by experienced facilitators in the USF community with the goal, perhaps best articulated by Facilitator Stephany Delgado, to "embetter your orgs and embetter yourselves". The summit offered several workshops which taught attendees valuable skills intended to aid them during their time both as student leaders, and as professionals after graduation. Attendance was comprised of students of many different ages, but who all shared the goal of improving themselves and--by extension--the university population.
The summit provided not only the opportunity to develop leadership skills, but also network with some of the prominent leaders in the school's community. Many of the USF multicultural organizations were represented by members of their executive boards, such as: VENUS, Sig Rho, aKDPhi, ASIA, BSA, KASA, and PDPsi.
The first day included informative lectures on writing and maintaining a resume, as well as proper interview protocol--both led by Facilitator Melissa Thammavongsa. Drawing on her considerable experience at USF Career Services, Embark attendees learned the do's and don't's of navigating the job market; such as DO supplement minimal work experience with leadership positions, but DON'T list your GPA if it's below a 3.0. Clearly, the former Treasurer of the Multicultural Greek Council and current President of aKDPhi succeeded in assisting attendees with their "professional growth and personal as well" through her educational presentations, which she stated as her goal during the introduction of Embark.
In addition to the seminars, the Embark facilitators helped attendees really develop their leadership skills through practice. Facilitators worked with small groups to teach them professionalism even in challenging situations through skits, mock job interviews, and games. A few rounds of Tank--teams consisting of two people throw projectiles at other teams while one member of each team is blindfolded--were memorable but also extremely entertaining challenges of communication between team members. Games like this, as well as the surprise talk with USFSG President Jean Cocco and Vice President Rhondel Whyte serve as examples of how the conference was both educational and enjoyable for all those involved.
The well-executed event indicates the planning that must have gone into it by the facilitators, the majority of which are upperclassmen. One might ask why these young adults who will be graduating soon would bother with all the effort that Embark required. Facilitator Romel Pancho's introduction explained it well: "a good leader helps those around them succeed." All the facilitators were chosen due to their extensive experience and roles in the USF community, and AFS is grateful for the time and talent these leaders donated and are eager to apply what they learned at Embark during this upcoming year.
LINKS
Embark Leadership Summit facebook event page
Asian Students in America facebook page
ASIA Embark Leadership summit photos
VENUS Interest Group facebook page
alpha Kappa Delta Phi Sorority facebook page
Sigma Beta Rho Fraternity facebook page
Pi Delta Psi Fraternity facebook page
Bengali Students Association facebook page
Korean American Student Association