On January 15-18, the Black Student Union program coordinator David Joseph and adviser Krichanna Roberson will be leading a total of eight people, which include members of the leadership team from the BSU, the ASG President Melantha Jenkins and the Chief Justice of ASG Joel Allen, to North Carolina for a conference hosted by the Williams Leadership Education Foundation.
The Williams Leadership Education Foundation aims to address leadership through college experience and is committed to providing pathways to leadership development for college students to impact their success in a multi-dimensional environment. This leadership conference aims to help students learn about different skills and their applications in various workplaces.
In order to attend this leadership event, one must submit an application and essay to the National Black Student Union, which will review each application.
In previous years, the conference was in Illinois, but this year, it will be in North Carolina.According to Joseph, one of his major goals while on this trip is to network with some of the attending colleges for those who wish to transfer to a historically black college.
Ron Taplin, one of the counselors at Bellevue College and Krichanna Roberson will both be teaching a workshop at the conference.
“This conference gives us a chance to connect with other black students from around the country. Bellevue College was one of the few colleges chosen from the northwest,” said Miranda Tamnkang, a student employee and member of the BSU.
Some of the topics that will be discussed include: Microaggression and Confronting Racism. The 2015 National Black Student Leadership Conference theme is “Developing a Culture of Service and Leadership” and is set to take place at the Marriott Hotel.
According to Joseph, before the end of spring quarter 2015, BSU is planning to have a presentation on what they learned from the conference. Topics will vary from leadership skills to black history.