On February 2, 2008 nearly 300 FIU students, faculty and staff came together for a day-long leadership conference which took place in the Wolfe University Center on the Biscayne Bay Campus. The Student Leadership Summit at FIU is an annual leadership event for current and emerging student leaders.  Throughout the day students have the opportunity to participate in leadership development sessions, learn from faculty and staff members, and network with other student leaders.

Over the span of three hours, in six different rooms in the building, 18 break-out sessions and 24 presenters spoke to FIU students about a wide variety of important topics including: Tech Tricks of the Trade, Facets of Leadership: Bringing Out the Leader in You, The Difference that Difference makes: Gender and Leadership, Upgrade Now to Effective Public Speaking v2.0, Improve Any Team You're In! How To Maintain Team Performance, Volunteering is Sexy, Managing Leadership Challenges of the 21st Century, and many more!

These breakout sessions were followed by lunch and the day concluded with guest speaker, Paul Rogat Loeb who is the author of many articles and books including: Generation at a Crossroads: Apathy and Action on the American Campus (1995), Soul of a Citizen: Living with Conviction in a Cynical Time (1999), and his most recent: The Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizens Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear (2004).

Drawing on these books and 35 years of exploring citizen involvement, Loeb's sessions focus on how ordinary citizens can make their voices heard and actions count in a time when we're told neither matter. He talks of how people get involved in larger community issues and what stops them from getting involved; how they burn out in exhaustion or maintain their commitment for the long haul; how involvement can give them a sense of connection and purpose rare in purely personal life. To learn more about Paul Loeb visit his website at www.paulloeb.org.

The Leadership Summit is a collaboration between the Center for Leadership & Service, Campus Life UP & BBC, Career Services, Housing, and SGA. For more information from this or past Leadership Summits, or to get involved next year check out our website at http://wuc.fiu.edu. Click on the Leadership Summit link on the lower right side of the page and view past themes, keynote speakers, pictures, as well as future dates and student registration.