“Whenever you don’t step up in your rightful place, someone else will take your place,” were the words heard throughout the Gerard Room at the Illinois Community College Student Activities Association’s (ICCSAA) Student Leadership Conference.

Twenty-eight Elgin Community College students hopped on a coach bus and traveled five hours down to Belleville, Illinois for the ICCSAA Fall 2017 Student Leadership Conference. ICCSAA is an organization of student activities professionals from eight community colleges, working to represent all students, the concerns, and interests of student bodies, improve student development, and provide coordination for student lead clubs.

The Student Leadership Conference was jam-packed with a variety of great opportunities for the participating students. The first night consisted of a dinner, award ceremony, and keynote speaker, Lecia J. Rives, followed by social networking, a dance, with games such as emoji t-shirt making and foot pool. The second day consisted of student lead workshops and two keynote speakers. Many students claim that this conference was arguably, the best one so far.

Here are three student’s takes on how the ICCSAA Fall 2017 Student Leadership Conference went:

Luz’s Take

The ICCSAA conference was an excellent experience. I learned a lot in a short amount of time. It all started when we began our bus ride to Belleville. I was able to get to know my fellow OLAS executive board better. Previously, I hadn’t interacted much with Alannis, our marketing officer, and I was able to do so on the way there. The randomization of room assignments furthered the interaction with different club leaders and initiated our time together. During dinner, my table contemplated the amount of food and the tempting dessert table. I thought it was really interesting how Naomi and Alex, from SWANS, knew sign language in different languages. And honestly, had I sat with my friends I wouldn’t have approached them otherwise.

Lecia J. Rives was one of my two favorite parts of the conference. Not only was she captivating but she spoke on an aspect of leadership that is all too common but not talked about and how to overcome it and preventing it. In her speech, she addressed many things about leadership. For example, from the perspective, you should look at leadership, what happens when you don’t take your place, and losing the respect of other’s when you are in the position to lead and don’t. What kept my attention throughout the whole time is how she incorporated her own struggle to come to where she is today and how she learned proper leadership. On the second day, I was not expecting  Lecia to have another presentation. However, when I saw her, I was excited and glad we would end the conference with her speaking. In her second speech, she spoke about the five different leaders that are in a team. I kept trying to place myself in one of the roles but was unable to and that was frustrating. However, I did recognize what kind I was previously at my former job and at church. I enjoyed this conference so much and am glad to have gotten to know my fellow leaders better and am grateful for making new friends.

Ish’s Take
This Fall, I was privileged enough to participate in my first ICCSAA Conference. Among all of the activities such as workshops, guest speakers, and networking opportunities, I learned that one of the strongest attributes that a leader can have is self-actualization.
Keynote speaker, Lecia Rives struck a chord in my heart with her presentation, “Leading in the Moment.” Rives started off the night with a story of how she ran for sixth grade Student Government president and won and that’s how she knew she was a leader. Humorously, that is also the same moment that I contribute to the beginning of my leadership, as I too ran and won for sixth grade Student Government President. Rives reminded me of what I think my leadership incorporates. She reminded me that I heavily rely on my assertive personality, my charisma, and my own sense of confidence to get the job done. She explained that both those skills are good ones to have as she incorporates those concepts into her work, as well.
I learned that self-actualization, for any leader, can benefit all of those around them, on and off of their campuses. Self-actualization of strengths and weaknesses can help a leader improve. With my newly realized actualization, I will be more confident with my ideas and leadership, overall, in the future. I will be aware of what I bring to a team and what I am better off not being in charge of. I also learned that my newly found confidence is not only a way for me to shape who I am, but it can be a way for others develop an own sense of their self-worth. “You must acknowledge you are a leader,” said Rives and I have acknowledged that I am one. I am hoping that when I return back to my campus, with a new set of eyes, and a new sense of confidence, my fellow leaders, club members, and faculty members, can see a new leader within themselves that they may have never seen before.

Lisa’s Take
I really took Lecia Rives’ words to heart because in a way I think of myself when I hear those words because I have walked away from several opportunities because of fear of rejection. She taught me to get out there and be somebody.

Another speaker we had was Chris George and he gave a speech on mindfulness being a mindful leader, which I found to be very helpful because I have been trying to live my life mindfully but sometimes it is hard because of the stress in my life, but he really gave some helpful advice. I remember the video he showed to people using phones in important moments and it made me realize that we really don’t need to record every little thing just to enjoy life, it really thought me to rethink my relationship with my phone. We also got to talk to the person next to us and tell them what was on our minds and we each took turns listening and talking. He also taught us to remember the little things for they could one day end up being big things. We also need mindful leaders more than ever, because it can help out the blind spots in your life.

We each got to choose one session to go to and I chose to go to the service projects session, when I came out of it I didn’t just get good ideas, I also got to hear what it means to have a service event it’s not for your own benefit but also to help others as well. It’s not just a thing to put on a resume but it’s also to help those who really need it the most. I also learned to reach out to the people you would least likely reach out to your professors let them talk to their classes see if they can help out.

We also learned from Lecia about coal, fluid, flicker, flame, and fire and how important is it to have each of those kinds of people on your team in order to have a solid team. Also that a leader always steps up in a time of crisis and is able to think and act creatively.

I also went a bit out of my comfort zone and talked to people from other colleges, it was easier than I thought it would be and I even made a new friend in the process! And we ended up getting more connections for our deaf culture event in the future.

Overall I feel like I learned a lot at ICCSAA while my graduation in December is still up in the air because of grades I already feel like I learned stuff for my remaining time at ECC, I feel in a way ready to take on life after ECC while I still have a lot to learn I will be happy to keep learning every new thing that comes my way.