UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State online learners will come together this month to learn how to be better leaders at the first Penn State World Campus Student Leadership Conference.
The conference will be held Sunday, Oct. 28, and Monday, Oct. 29, at the HUB-Robeson Center at Penn State’s University Park campus. All Penn State World Campus students are eligible to attend.
The two-day conference will have three tracks: student leadership development; community and civic leadership; and leadership in the workplace. The conference will offer opportunities for students to network with one another and World Campus leaders.
“The goal of the conference is leveraging the leadership skills the students already display in their daily lives to serve the University as student leaders,” said Ashley Adams, director of Penn State World Campus Student Affairs, which is organizing the event. “Our students have voiced their desire to further develop their leadership and networking skills for personal growth and career advancement, and we are excited to offer this opportunity for the first time.”
Adams said she recognized the need for a leadership conference geared for online, adult learners after more than 60 World Campus students applied to attend the Penn State Summer Leadership Conference, which is open to students from all University campuses, in August. She said she could only select 17.
Eliza Kelemen, a business major who lives in Princeton, New Jersey, was one of the students selected. She praised the experience and hoped to use it to strengthen her ties to the University and sharpen her skills.
“The Summer Leadership Conference not only gave me the chance to visit State College for the first time, but I left feeling connected to not only other students but to the University,” said Kelemen, who also works as a quality specialist.
Kelemen said she hopes to attend the World Campus leadership conference to hear more about topics for working adults pursuing their degrees online.
Another attendee, Teelautee Seepersad, said she hopes to attend the new World Campus conference to connect with her fellow online learners and learn leadership skills that she can apply to her schooling, in her job and in parenting her two children. Seepersad, of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, is majoring in organizational leadership and works as a budget manager for New York City’s public schools.
“I would recommend other students consider similar opportunities because it is an exceptional experience,” Seepersad said.
Students can visit the conference website to register and get more information.