Lead365
April 1, 2015
By Madison Denning, Student Communications Specialist
Honors College freshmen Claire Lee and Austin Coon started their Spring Break off at the happiest place on Earth – Disney World. Both Claire and Austin attended Lead365, a national leadership conference held in Orlando, Florida. 180 students gathered in central Florida for the inaugural conference, hoping to leave a better leader. The three day conference consisted of large seminars, breakout sessions, and motivational talks. During lunch and dinner, participants got the chance to network with faculty and students from across the nation. In the evenings, students were given free-time in which they were able to explore Disney World, Downtown Disney, and Orlando itself.
When asked why she chose to participate in Lead365, Claire responded “I thought it would give me great leadership skills that would help improve both my personal life and the Honors College.” Austin stated he hoped he could use what he learned at the conference to become more active at Purdue and also improve the Honors College community. Both students concluded that escaping the cold, Indiana weather was an additional perk.
Both Lee and Coon agreed that their favorite part of the trip was getting to meet people from other universities and having the opportunity to compare thoughts and ideas about certain programs with them. The two Purdue representatives spent a lot of their free time with the students from the University of Delaware.
Austin adds,
I definitely encourage other students to participate in Lead365 in the future. I believe that every undergraduate student should go to a conference at some point because the experience teaches things that are not taught in classes. The professional speakers at Lead365 were both inspirational and moving and the students that attended brought in vastly different perspectives from around the country.
