A student leadership conference is being planned for March 14-16 in Roanoke. The conference will be held at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center. This conference is designed to attract emerging young leaders of the future who are currently in the 10th and 11th grades. There will be many training opportunities for the students as well as avenues for them to showcase their outstanding leadership skills. The theme of the conference is "Achieving the Vision thru Yesterday's Wisdom."

This conference is being launched in the year in which Virginia Tech celebrates the Golden Anniversary of the first African American student to enroll at the university. During the year-long celebration of this event, the first African American to graduate will also be honored. The focus of this first Student Leadership Conference will be on the leadership lessons that can be gleaned from those "who have been there, done that." Pioneers and path makers from all generations have much to share with today's students. The conference experience will be designed to give students an avenue to demonstrate that they are not "at risk," but "at promise," given the right opportunities.

The conference activities will include leadership workshops, alumni panels, campus tours, network sessions, and prizes for the participants. In addition, the conference will provide opportunities for some student participants to apply for scholarships and other support should they choose to pursue higher education. Participants may also be selected to serve as student moderators for workshop sessions, and everyone will be able to volunteer to be a part of "Open Mic Night." The first night of the conference will afford the participants the opportunity to attend "Realizing the Dream,"a program hosted on the campus of Virginia Tech. This program will promote the ideals and ideas of such leaders as Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and will be one of the motivational highlights of the weekend.

For more information, please contact Jane Todd, Program Administrator at Virginia Tech's Outreach Program Development Office at (540)231-2014, janetodd@vt.edu or visit the website: http://www.conted.vt.edu/vtleadership/.

Written by Jane Anne Todd.

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