Beta Gamma Sigma's Global Leadership Summit
Megan Stemper
While at Beta Gamma Sigma's Global Leadership Summit, I had many wonderful experiences. To begin with, I was able to fly alone for the first time and gain confidence by navigating through airports and Florida by myself. As I was doing this, I knew it would be a trip I would not soon forget. When I arrived at the summit, I found myself surrounded by brilliant students from around the world, and they were all just as eager as I was to meet each other and share perspectives.
During the first full day of the conference, I enjoyed the beautiful Orlando sun, wonderful food, and amazing speakers. Topics of the presentations included how to decide where we are and where we want to be, ethical leadership, synergistic mentoring, how body language can be used to help in negotiating and interviewing, and how to get hired. Dr. Alyssa Preston, who was my favorite speaker of the day, shared her real world experiences – both good and bad – and how they shaped her as a person. This, mixed with her guided self-reflection, really helped me gain insight on where I want to be after college. Later that night, we were free to do as we wished.
Evening activities in the Orlando area ranged from doing things at the hotel like swimming, hot tubbing, and enjoying the lazy river to venturing out and exploring the Disney boardwalk (just a five minute walk from the hotel!) and taking a shared Uber with a group to explore the downtown Orlando nightlife.
The next day included a case study activity and a mix of speakers who presented on topics such as what their life was like after college, how to get into graduate school, and, from my favorite speaker of the day, life lessons for today’s leaders. This last speaker, Dr. Tim Clipson, integrated magic while sharing riveting stories about his life and travels and how it all related to leadership.
For the case study exercise, we were split into groups of ten to collaborate on the case study and figure out our presentation that was needed for the next morning. We once again had the evening to socialize and explore. The final day, we presented our case study and had awards for the winning case studies. Then, participants headed back to their respective homes.
Overall, this was a wonderful trip, and I would recommend that anyone even slightly interested takes the chance and goes. Not only did I learn a lot about leadership and myself, but I also met so many amazing students from across the country and world; some I intend to keep in contact with.