Student leadership is a key part of Gustie identity. Gustavus is known for encouraging all students to take on leadership roles and is continually looking for ways to further this goal.

For the first time in Gustavus history, a leadership event specific to first-year students will be held. The First-Year Leadership Conference (FYLC) begins at 10:00 a.m on Saturday, March 16, in Alumni Hall.

The event is being set up by the Dean of Students office in collaboration with the Campus Activities office. The conference has been highly advertised to the class of 2022 through posters as well as emails.

Assistant Vice President for Student Life Charlie Potts sent basic information on the conference as well as a link to the signup page through an email in an effort to raise awareness for the conference.

“The First-Year Leadership Conference is an event designed exclusively for first-year Gusties and the goal is to provide a fun and engaging opportunity to expand leadership skills, develop a positive mindset, and provide tools for reflection and goal-setting,” Potts said.

The event is looking to prepare students for leadership roles, even as first-year students.

“The conference will include a really great keynote speaker who will talk about what flourishing and well-being really mean for your leadership. There will also be multiple break-out sessions presented by Gustavus faculty and staff, all aimed at providing meaningful strategies that first-year Gusties can incorporate into their own leadership journey. And we’ll have some fun games and prizes too,” Potts said.

“I’m really excited for first-year students to hear the keynote speaker, Janet Lewis Muth, who is the Director of Health Promotion at Carleton College. Janet is highly regarded in her field and brings an engaging and relevant message about the power of presence and positivity. I think first-years will love it,” Senior Zach Croonquist said.

Croonquist works closely with Director of Campus Activities Andrea Junso.

“This is a great opportunity to add to your repertoire of leadership skills and experiences. The intent of the conference is to provide tangible leadership skill development for our first-year Gustavus students,” Junso said. Junso put the conference together with the help of many people, including Croonquist.

“My role on the conference planning team was two-fold. I was the only student voice on the planning team so my primary role was to provide input from a student perspective,” Croonquist said.

His goal in planning this conference was to represent the student body as best as possible, and his involvement contributed to the selection of Muth as the keynote speaker.

“It’s hard to fully embrace leadership if you don’t feel like you are flourishing yourself. This talk will explore what flourishing or well-being really means with practical strategies to incorporate into your own life,” Muth said.

The keynote talk will focus mainly on tactics for self-improvement that can in turn help students reach leadership positions.

There will be over a dozen subjects discussed during the break-out sessions. Some of the topics covered include “Intersectional Leadership: Creating Empathetic Leaders,” “Becoming a Campus Leader,” “Crucial Conversations: Identifying and Working Through Conflict,” “Building YOUR Brand,” “Integrated/Sustainable Leadership,” and “Leadership for Social Change.”

The first break-out session will be just before the lunch break, and the second and third will immediately follow the meal.

The presenters for the break-out sessions are all Gustavus staff members from a wide variety of campus organizations. Some of these include Associate Vice President in Dining Services Steve Kjellgren, Career development specialist Jess Franta, Chaplain and Director of Campus Ministries Maggie Falenschek, Director of Community-Based Service and Learning Amy Pehrson, Assistant Director of Campus Activities Julianne Watterson, Director of Peer Education and Chemical Health Laura Herbst-Johnson, Assistant Director of the Diversity Center Janet Jennings, and Admission Counselor Herchran Singh.

“I am going in hopes of learning new leadership tools,” First-year student Gena King said.

“I am also interested in the conference because it will allow me to grow closer with other members of my class,” King said.

While the conference certainly has an important message behind it, there will still be fun and lighthearted moments, and also food and prizes for students.

“I am excited to learn leadership skills that I can apply on campus and later on in my career,” First-year Edmund Fornoff said.

The conference will teach leadership that not only can be used while living on the Gustavus campus, but also beyond college life.

The Campus Activities and Dean of Students Offices hope as a result of attending the conference, students will have a better understanding of leadership. First-year students will learn more about their personal leadership style, reflect on how their past influences future opportunities, and figure out how to apply personal values to leadership roles.

This type of event with a first-year student focus could become more common as Gustavus looks to get all students engaged in leadership.