Every year, Saint Xavier University hosts the Synergy Leadership Summit. This year, it will be held on Saturday, February 18th from 8 am until 12 pm. Many students may have seen flyers hanging around the school, and even advertisements displayed on the campus TV screens, but what exactly is Synergy? More importantly, why should students attend?
The Synergy Leadership Summit is a conference where students and educators can engage in activities, participate in student panels, and network with student leaders. Every year, Synergy features a keynote speaker who shares words of wisdom with students. This year’s speaker is SXU’s Dr. Natalie Page, our inaugural chief diversity officer.
Leadership on campus is incredibly important, and Synergy is a great way to get a taste of what it’s like to be in a big leadership role. By engaging in the activities and presentations, students can build their own skills, so that they can become strong leaders and role models on campus.
Director of Campus Life, Ashley Jackson, had this to say about the conference: “Synergy is extremely impactful for our students because it allows them to show off their skills, knowledge, and abilities. They gain great, insightful information from our keynote speakers and the breakout sessions. From my own personal experience, students have valued the connections they made through Synergy.”
Last year, I attended Synergy for the first time, and it was an experience I will never forget. The student panels were very informative, and I left the conference with a number of new skills I could utilize in my own leadership roles on campus. The most rewarding part of attending Synergy was the connections I made with other student leaders. I met a lot of wonderful people that I now work very closely with in order to create amazing programs and events for the whole school to enjoy.
Many students who have attended Synergy in the past have also had similar experiences. Evelyn Martinez, a sophomore student leader, had this to say about her Synergy experience: “You don’t think much of events like Synergy until you experience them. You meet such great and impactful people while learning things you wouldn’t have learned elsewhere.”
Synergy’s impact can be felt all around campus, as the skills these student leaders learn help shape the campus community through events, programming, and student outreach. Without the skills learned at Synergy, many beloved school events may have never happened.
Improving student life has always been a key concern for many students on campus who feel as though there aren’t many opportunities at SXU. It is important for students who want to see change on campus to be willing to be the ones who make the change. Attending Synergy is a wonderful way for students to get inspired to go out there and create the events and programs that they want to see. This community cannot grow and evolve if students do not step out of their comfort zones, face the issues at hand, and create new opportunities that better the overall student experience.