On Thursday April 11, the First Ospreys Club sponsored seven students to go to Miami, Florida to experience a multi-day leadership conference hosted by the Circle of Change organization.

Dr. Joshua Fredenburg welcomed more than 500 first-generation college students across the nation, ready to inspire all to become leaders. The day-long conference began on Friday, April 12 at 9:00 a.m at the Roz and Cal Kovens Conference Center on the Florida International University Biscayne Bay Campus. The room was ecstatic as everyone was excited to be a part of the leadership experience. The conference was opened by public speaker & professor, Tish Norman setting the stage for Dr. Fredenburg’s keynote speech, stressing the importance of “thinking big” as well as succeeding after failure.

The conference then broke out into several sessions at 10:30 a.m, professor Tish hosted a breakout session about students in business & marketing offering tips for students in the field. She discussed “personal brands” and how to build a successful one. She expressed that authenticity, values, integrity, charisma, and trustworthiness are all important attributes to building a personal brand. Tish expresses the importance that your character you portray on the outside is what others will judge you on, and service should be an existing aspect of your character. She restates a quote from Shirley Chisolm, “ Service is the rent you pay on this earth”.

The following breakout session was hosted by Dr. Tierney Bates. Dr. Bates introduced the power of communication. Separating yourself from others, standing out & adding to your value, importance of likability are all valuable aspects to become successful.

The third breakout session was hosted by David Coleman and carried on the theme of communication. He taught students how to communicate professionally. “When something goes out from your company. It must be PICCA, Professional, Inclusive, Consistent, Concise, Accurate.” 

The following event was a panel of five powerful women working in different fields such as sports media & app development. The panel served to uplift students & encourage them to take the chance into the field that they’re curious about. The women shared their journey on how they paved the way to their career and touched upon the greatest challenges to overcome as a woman in the professional field.

The conference then broke out into several sessions. Professor Tish hosted another breakout session about pursuing happiness & what motivates people to do things. Tish touched upon Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation. When we feel emotions on the inside, it motivates us to feel things on the outside.

The final breakout session on Friday afternoon was hosted by David Coleman. Colman discussed tips for a successful relationship. He stressed the importance of healthy & beneficial relationships who communicate their needs heavily. Coleman believes the #1 tip is to never allow others to mistake your kindness as weakness. He believes there is no such thing as an “other half”, people should look for others who add to their life not complete it, “Look for others who compliment your life, not who complicate it”. 

Saturday morning’s conference begins bright and early at 9:00 a.m with Dr. Fredenburg and keynote speaker, Silvanna Marmolejos. Silvanna told her story as a first-generation student and Latina in the media & production field. Silvanna tells a heartwarming story about her journey, stumbling upon the Telemundo network office and receiving an internship. She expresses that her college at the time would not let her take the internship and she decided to look for other colleges that would allow her to accept the internship. Silvanna was soon accepted into another college and was offered a full ride on top of her internship that she had received. She expressed the importance to students about “exploring your options” and “don’t take no for an answer”. Silvanna says that everything has a plan and students do not always need to worry about the next step. “I don’t have it all figured out, but I’ll figure it out along the way”. 

The final breakout session of the conference was hosted by Dr. Ellis & Professor Tish. It was a lighthearted session about the importance of dressing professionally. Many students were not aware of the unwritten rules when it came to dressing professionally. The two speakers covered what pieces of clothing were appropriate for each dress code and that materialistic & designer clothing were not the only option to dress polished.

Overall, the students from the First Ospreys had an amazing experience and learned so much while in Miami. They thank the Student Transition Office as well as Student Development for the help to make it happen.