JOSE ROMERO
campus editor

NE Campus’ Leader Con conference, aimed at improving leadership skills, was held virtually Nov. 13.

Leadership was the overall topic of the event, but it wasn’t the only subject covered. Workshops hosted by TCC professors and guest speakers dove into topics that varied from controlling emotions in arguments, interview etiquette and power networking.

“I want you to see this conference, not as just a leadership conference,” keynote speaker Marcedes Fuller said. “I want you to see this as the next best critical step in your journey.”

Fuller, a motivational speaker, life coach and author, shared anecdotes from his childhood, which he stitched into the topics of personal strength, acceptance and unity. He reflected on life events and the current situation many face due to the pandemic.

He believes people should be accepting of others and themselves. When asked if there was one thing he wanted the audience to leave with, Fuller responded with “knowing that you have the power to be great and make an impact.”

The workshops followed right after the keynote speech. “Taming the Conflict Animals by Managing Disagreements through Perception Checking,” presented by NW Campus speech communication instructor Carol Hunsburger, had attendees do a short exercise with questions about how they would handle confrontation.

The results would then be tallied to determine which animal corresponded with the given answers. “Conflict is not a negative thing,” Hunsburger said.

“What we want to understand, though, is how we manage that conflict.” “Peaks and Valleys” discussed the highs

and lows of life. Ana Contreras, South coordinator of student activities, went into detail about what defines peaks and valleys.

“These are moments where you appreciate what you have,” Contreras said when discussing peaks, “when you can really look back on all the work that you’ve done … all the struggles you’ve overcome.

Valleys are moments when you long for what is missing.” The other two workshops went over job interview skills and how to become a social justice student ambassador. “How To Get the Job You Want: 7 Tips Nobody Told You” was hosted by Jim Traister, a guest speaker from The Digital Navigator. The other was hosted by intercultural network coordinator Dantrayl Smith.

The recordings are available for free on the event website: https://sites.google. /my.tccd.edu/leader-con-fall-2020/home