Kennedy Adam’s presentation at Synergy The Xavierite
On Friday, Feb. 21, Student Life held their annual Synergy Conference with presentations from the Counseling Center, Leadership Development, and Career Development.
Blanca Correa, Student Development Specialist, stated, “Synergy is an annual student leadership conference designed to help students develop their leadership skills through educational presentations, engaging activities, and a service project. It provides an opportunity to enhance their understanding of leadership and explore ways to be inclusive and innovative leaders within our campus community.”
Throughout the conference, students learned about different approaches to leadership from different departments.
The conference began with Jacqueline Morris, Director of the SXU Career Development Center discussing the importance of being a leader. After Morris, students heard from departments throughout SXU. Raul Andrade & Dennis Garrido Aviles, two counselors, presented Leadership Styles.
Andrew Rossini stated, “There are many different types and styles, so just because you do things differently than someone else who is a leader, doesn’t mean you’re bad at leading. I hadn’t considered how different people’s leadership styles could be and it’s an important lesson to take forward when I eventually enter the workforce.”
In the last hour of the conference, the students heard from Adrian Hernandez, SXU Leadership Development Coordinator about recognizing their implicit biases. Throughout this presentation, Hernandez displayed to the students that everyone has biases. One of his examples was with McDonald’s. If students hear the phrase, I’m loving it, they might immediately think of McDonald’s.
Rossini continued, “The way Adrian Hernandez engaged everyone in a light hearted way with brand recognition and transitioned into a fairly serious topic was very interesting to me and I definitely learned a lot from it.”
Kennedy Adams, SXU Community Engagement Coordinator, presented a slideshow displaying Imposter Syndrome.
Adams stated, “I was prompted to present at this event by my supervisor, Blanca Correa. She also suggested the idea of presenting on Imposter Syndrome. I enjoy public speaking, so I didn’t hesitate to accept the opportunity. I was especially honored to be the closing presenter.”
In her presentation, along with the metaphor of trees, she shared personal stories to explain how she has felt like an imposter in the past.
Some of the photos that she shared to attendees were of her cheerleading, when she first embarked on her journey at SXU as a Graduate Assistant, and when she began her internship.
Adams proceeded with, “I chose those three milestones in my life that I talked about during my presentation not only because they are meaningful to me, but because I knew students could relate. The pressures of being a college athlete, wondering ‘what’s next’ after you graduate, and ultimately having to make life-changing decisions to either grow or to remain in your comfort zone are all canon events that aren’t talked about enough.”
The students that attended the conference gave feedback on what they learned.
Taylor McDonald stated, “I learned that God definitely positions us in the places where he wants us to be. Although being a student leader is anything but easy, I am capable of doing great things and I belong in the spaces that I am in. These roles are helping prepare me for what is to come.
Correa continued, “The summit looks a bit different this year, in that, SXU staff will be presenting but it will still provide an opportunity for students to engage, gain valuable information, and make connections to support their journey while at SXU.”
In the past, it was challenging to get student leaders to submit proposals to be a presenter at Synergy. In order to get more presenters, Student Life decided to open up the proposal to faculty and staff for this year. This let staff members pick topics that student leaders could relate to as they continue to go through college, according to Correa.
Correa explained that student presenters were encouraged to submit a workshop proposal. Then the Student Life committee would review them and select the topics that they felt were appropriate/useful for student leaders to learn. Once the workshop was selected, they would reach out to the individuals whose topic was selected and we would provide them with the date/time of their presentation.
McDonald stated, “I went as a returner applicant for the x-factor process, but attending synergy is always thought-provoking.”
Students were prompted to attend the conference if they were seeking a X-Factor position for the upcoming 2025-2016 academic year. However, Correa stated, “Although it is a requirement that all X-Factor applicants attend, it is not exclusively for them. The summit is open to all SXU students, staff and faculty.”
If students have any questions about upcoming conferences, contact correa@sxu.edu.