This past week, student leaders from all over the country traveled to Claflin University to attend the National Association of Student Affairs Professionals Student Leadership Institute or NASAP SLI. Student leaders that attended included both SGA student leaders, Royal Court members and Campus Activity Board (CAB) members.
This conference’s purpose is to prepare HBCU leaders for their term or reign to make sure they serve their community effectively and efficiently. However, many students don’t know how this conference will benefit them as a general member of their campus community or how it benefits the leaders themselves.
Multiple student leaders have spoken highly of this conference and according to Delaware State University’s SGA Vice President, “NASAP owes me nothing.”
Aasiyah Abdul-Kareem, the Delaware State University SGA Vice President is just one of many leaders that definitely had a time while also developing their leadership skills.
This conference showed leaders that they put in the work, while being able to have fun with their jobs.
The newly elected Miss Cheyney University, Jacqueline Watkins emphasized on how she learned so much about herself during the conference and that the conference, “Felt like experiencing the Harry Potter’s Goblet of Fire book in real time with all the HBCUs coming together.”
Watkins continue on by emphasizing, “I learned so many new line dances that I will be bringing with me back up to the North!”
However just because our students were having fun does not mean they were not putting in that work!
The newly elected Senate Pro-Tempore at Florida A&M University, Treyvious Copeland said, “The conference has affected me in multiple ways as I am now equipped with knowledge and strategies that I can bring back to Florida A&M University, especially the 54th Student Senate and we can build a better sense of togetherness and selflessness.”
These student leaders spent seven days collaborating with other HBCU students, learning more leadership techniques and even won some awards.
Jordyn Bew, The Associate Chief Justice at Florida A&M University stated that, “Winning the Most Congenial Award was a humbling and gratifying experience. It signifies our commitment to fostering positive relationships and creating a welcoming environment not only within our delegation but also among our peers from other HBCUs”
The Associate Chief Justice continue to explain how her experience was one for the books and she would love to do it again. She felt prepared to be a better leader for our community after the conference.
This conference is one of the many opportunities that HBCU students get to collaborate with other leaders and exchange ideas and connect with each other. This conference was an enlightening experience for so many of the student leader’s especially the one’s mentioned here today.
Throughout the week multiple HBCUs dominated the conference and won an array of awards this week. These student leaders seem ready and able for whatever will come at them this academic year and they are ready to serve their communities well.
Let’s hope that this 2024-2025 academic is one for the books for these student leaders!
