SU to be represented by seven students at Leadership Conference
Southern University is being represented by seven SU students in Washington D.C. at the 13th Annual Thurgood Marshall College Fund Leadership Conference, today through Nov. 12.
The students are in Washington D.C. networking, interviewing and learning leadership skills to help prepare for their future after graduation.
Director of the Office of Career Services Tamara Montgomery said that the event will allow Southern students to interact with over 500 high achieving students from around the United States, which will require the students to show their competitive side.
The Thurgood Marshall College Fund held interviews during the spring semester on Southern's campus coordinated through the Office of Career Services. Students were notified in April that they were selected to attend this year's conference.
"I am excited to attend the Thurgood Marshall Conference," Myron Lawson, Jr., senior Business/Supply Chain Management major, said in an interview prior to leaving for Washington. "This opportunity will allow me to further enhance my leadership capabilities and promote a personal brand, all while networking with other distinguished students and professionals across the country."
Senior accounting and finance double major, Joseph Robins said, "It feels great to already have been contacted by Wells-Fargo, Wal-Mart and Mircosoft to line up interviews" at the conference.
Along with the interview process, students had to meet certain requirement to be chosen. Participants are required to have a 3.2 grade point average; be a junior, senior or graduate student; hold a leadership role on campus; and must not be committed to employment at the time of the interview.
Shante' Harvey, a junior political science, found out about the Thurgood Marshall interviews on campus through the SUBR mass emails and her Honors College teacher Eric Pugh.
"This is great exposure for me to become a better leader," said Harvey, Activity Coordinator for the Junior Class Cabinet. She said the training will help with her public speaking abilities.
Harvey feels everyone is going to get something out of the conference and that she will have to step her game up.
Students attending the conference include: Lawson, Robins, Harvey; Anne Chumbow, sophomore nursing major; Chad R. Morton, graduate student in Public Administration; G'Nita R. Wright, senior chemistry and chemical engineering major; and Trakela R. Wright, doctoral candidate in Urban Forestry.
Faculty members traveling with the students include LaTasha Gray-Grant, Career Counselor and Professional Development Instructor; Tamara Montgomery, director of the Office of Career Services; and Eric Pugh, Honors College Program Associate.
The Leadership Institute is the premier recruitment conference for public HBCU students. For the past decade, this four-day conference has given talented future leaders a unique professional development experience.
In the photo from left to right: Eric Pugh, Trakela Wright, G'Nita Wright, Myron Lawson, Chad Morton, Shante'Harvey, Anne Chumbow, and Tamara Montgomery.