Themes, Speakers, and Quotes
2021: Take Your Next Step
- Keynote Speaker: Hoan Do
- Description: Are you ready to take your next step? Where will the next step take you? Do you know where you want to go? It is ok to not have the answers to these questions yet. Leadership is a series of many steps – some steps lead you on a path you plan to take, some steps may surprise you, some steps may feel uncomfortable at first, but every step allows you to grow as a leader.
2020: Courage to Care
- Keynote Speaker: Misha Glouberman
- Description: What does it take to have the Courage to Care? How can you get others to care through your leadership and advocacy? How can you work with and engage others for your cause? How can you summon the determination to address problems you see in the world? [ISLC was cancelled for safety reasons due to the global coronavirus pandemic.]
2019: Wanna dance? Invite. Engage. Lead!
- Keynote Speaker: Tom Krieglstein from Swift Kick
- Description: How do you invite, encourage, and welcome others to join you? How do you engage others in your organization or for your cause? How do you lead or, is the better question: how do you want to lead? ISLC 2019 covered these topics and more, taking Swift Kick’s Dance Floor Theory to the actual dance floor.
2018: Where Lines Are Drawn
- Keynote Speaker: Megan Phelps-Roper
- Description: Lines are drawn all around us – from country borders to protests, from road lanes to rivers. Some lines are physical, both natural and manmade; others we create in our minds. Some lines help us on our journey, guiding us. Other lines hinder. Some lines are straight, while others twist and turn. Some lines connect. Many are imaginary.
Why are lines drawn? Why are they drawn in a particular way? What do lines symbolize to you? As a leader how do you navigate these lines? Do you create them? Should you break them down?
2017: Expect the Unexpected
- Global Simulation Activity
- Description: Think about a time in your life when something happened that took you completely by surprise. Perhaps you turned a corner and came face-to-face with that one thing you most fear. Or maybe you were having an important discussion about a sensitive subject and feeling really positive about the difficult but respectful dialog that was taking place, when suddenly the fire alarm went off and the discussion ended abruptly and without proper closure. What about the time when someone or something suddenly showed up for which you were totally unprepared? How long does it take to regroup and face the challenge when the unexpected happens? How can we better prepare ourselves and the groups we lead to be prepared to face those challenges?
2016: Accidental Leadership
- Keynote Speaker: Wajahat Ali
- Quote: "A new world begins within you!"
- Description:Why are you a leader? What has inspired you to be a leader? Understanding your reason for being a leader along with knowing your story will fuel your motivation to implement your vision for a new world. While some will argue that leaders are born, this year’s keynote speaker, Wajahat Ali, is more likely to argue that leaders arise out of special events, tragedies and disasters. As a matter fact, he considers himself an “accidental activist.” This year’s conference will give participants a chance to explore the experiences that lead them to become leaders. Furthermore, just as Wajahat has learned of the importance of social media as a means for entrepreneurs/leaders/activists to promote their cause/passion, participants will be in a position to apply this same concept for their story and values.
2015: Right? Wrong? Ethical?
- Keynote Speaker: Miki Agrawal
- Description: Being an ethical leader sometimes means having to take actions that are inconvenient and unpopular, but an ethical leader is always one who sees the interconnectedness of individuals, cultures, experiences and passions by implementing multidisciplinary solutions to address complex problems. An ethical leader thinks outside of the box, and relies on others to obtain different perspectives and solutions by trusting and empowering them. Learn what it takes to create your own path to entrepreneurship, find fulfillment and above all to become an ethical leader.
2014: Know your story. Lead with Passion.
- Keynote Speaker: Sahil Dhingra
- Quote: "Passion is a heartfelt energy that flows through us, not from us. It fills our hearts when we allow it to and it inspires others when we share it.” John J. Murphy
- Description: How can you inspire others to join your cause if they do not know who you are and what you believe in? So, what are you passionate about? What inspires you? What is your story? Think of your strengths and what drives you or motivates you. Your passion is how you leave your mark in life. It’s how you become remembered. It’s how you become a leader. Passions, like stories, are meant to be shared.
2013: Strengths Within
- Keynote Speaker: Michael McCleve
- Quote: “I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence but it comes from within. It is there all the time.” Anna Freud
- Description: How is one to lead when one does not know about his or her own skills and strengths? This year’s conference will not only enable you to identify your strengths but also learn how to apply these strengths to your advantage in your different leadership roles and positions. Your own personal strengths will be assessed through the Strength Finder Gallup assessment tool by identifying your natural abilities and strengths.
2012: Lead the Change
- Keynote Speaker: Leymah Gbowee
- Quote: "Don't wait for a Gandhi, don't wait for a King, don't wait for a Mandela. You are your own Mandela, you are your own Gandhi, you are your own King."
- Documentary: Pray the Devil Back to Hell
- Featured: Kike, Miguel y Jania - an ensemble of musicians hailing originally from Chile, Argentina and Ecuador - concert on Saturday night
2011: Courage to Engage
- Keynote Speakers: (Friday Night) Greg Meyer & (Saturday) Arnd Wachter
- Description: Leadership is not always easy - sometimes it is downright difficult. Do you always have the courage to jump into a situation and take the steps needed to move forward? We have designed this conference to give participants the tools to better prepare for those times when leadership is hard.
- Documentary: Crossing Borders
- Featured: Ohana of Polynesia which offered a Hawaiian Style Lu’au Show
2010: Weaving Leadership Through Stories
- Keynote Speaker: Moses Asamoah
- Description: We each have stories to tell - from our childhood, from times of great joy and times of overwhelming sadness - stories our grandparents passed on to us, and stories that our children will tell. This year’ theme is: “Weaving Leadership Through Stories.” Participants in this conference are urged to find and tell their unique stories and, in doing so, enhance their leadership potential.
- Featured: Kike, Miguel y Jania - an ensemble of musicians hailing originally from Chile, Argentina and Ecuador - concert on Saturday night
2009: Faces of Leadership
- Keynote Speaker: Michael Tapscott
- Description: Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, Mohatma Gandhi, Desmond Tutu... these are but a few faces of leadership that immediately come to mind. This conference will encourage the participants to recognize the attributes of these great leaders, and to identify similar attributes in themselves. Thus in the future, when participants are asked to identify the faces of leadership, they will be challenged to recognize their own faces.
- Featured: "Inspirational Quotes from Different World Leaders"
2008: Impossible is Nothing
- Keynote Speaker: Deng Lual
- Featured: a Saturday Street Fair- browse the items for sale by our guest vendors, Ronald Rosario's Indian Market (selling authentic Indian clothing, jewelry, etc) Sue Dille Designs (handmade ethnic style jewelry-sterling silver rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces of natural stones and beads) and the different student organization tables
2007: Transforming cultural experiences into leadership opportunities
- Keynote Speaker: Darla Deardoff
- Featured: Sattaskys - a reggae-rock group - concert on Friday night
2006: Communication, Wellness, Skills, Identity – Connecting the Pieces of a Leader
- Keynote Speaker: Salorne McDonald
- Featured: a drumming circle" Music- The Universal Language"
2005: Awaken your World: Live your Vision
- Keynote Speakers: Zebulon Davenport; Randy L. Mitchell
- Themed Luncheon: Dr. Terrence L. Jantzi led a lunch-time panel discussing ways the individuals “lived their vision” and leadership as service to others
- Description: What does it mean to “Awaken Your World" and "Live Your Vision”? How do we approach the world in ways that bring enlightenment and provide significant leadership while remaining true to our personal vision and dreams? The luncheon program will provide opportunities for you to explore your own vision, and consider individual acts which have brought about change and hope throughout the world. Come prepared to be moved and challenged.
- Featured: Elegba Folklore Society Concert on Friday night
2004: Awaken your Unique Dynamic Self
- Keynote Speaker: Dr. Aminata Njeri (CEO of LeaderShipology)
2003: Learn, Cultivate. Grow: Discover Your Leadership Potential
- Keynote Speaker: Dr. Mark J. Warner
2002: Combining our Voices: Celebrating Similarities and Embracing Differences
- Keynote Speaker: Anthony Lemonte Hogan
2001: Combining our Voices to Strengthen Global Leadership
- Keynote speakers: Zebulun Davenport and Randy Mitchell
Participating Universities over the Years
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Center for Global Engagement International Student and Scholar Services
Holland Yates Hall (formerly Madison Hall)
MSC 5731
100 East Grace Street
Room 2nd Floor
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807
MSC 5731
100 East Grace Street
Room 2nd Floor
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807
