Loyola’s Office of Student Engagement is gearing up for its Annual Leadership Week, set to kick off on Sunday, Nov. 16 with a re-vamped Student Leadership Conference. Events for the week include workshops and lectures on leadership and what it means to be a student leader, a leadership fair for students to learn more about leadership opportunities on campus and, to round out the week, a keynote address from Debbie Phelps, director at the Education Foundation of Baltimore County Public Schools and mother to Olympian Michael Phelps.

However, for Assistant Director of Student Engagement Hope Supernault, Leadership Week is much more than just a bunch of workshops and lectures. “This week was started as a way to promote leadership development to all students and encourage every student at Loyola to see their leadership potential and take opportunities to learn more leadership skills,” Supernault says. During the week, students will be able to tap into their natural leadership abilities through numerous activities, such as stopping by a table in Boulder and sharing what leadership means to them. Students who participate can write down their thoughts, have their photo taken and will have the chance to be featured in a campus leadership video.

More in-depth happenings for the week include a lecture on “Leadership in Action” and a workshop on how to market your leadership. All of this, though, begins with the Student Leadership Conference on Sunday. As Supernault summarizes it, “This year is the first time we will have an all-campus leadership development conference…[It] is a full peer-to-peer event and has sessions tailored to all levels of leadership development.”

The conference, which is open to all students, will begin and end with student keynote addresses and will feature student-led workshops and presentations that will focus on skill building, mentoring and leadership opportunities.

When all is said and done, Supernault—and all of the Student Engagement staff—has just one hope, “We hope this week will start the conversation about everyday leadership and all students will begin to think about the impact they have on their community through actions every day. Everyone has the opportunity to create positive change and make the Loyola community a better place.”

For more information on the Student Leadership Conference and Leadership Week, visit http://www.loyola.edu/department/studentengagement/getinvolved/leaderweek.

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