Students got the opportunity to become better leaders at LMC’s 17th annual Impact Conference held in the Student Union Conference Center Friday, Nov. 8. It was hosted by Student Life, Equity & Inclusion, and LMCAS and featured various breakout rooms for students to develop skills.
Interim Director of Student Life Robert Delgado, Vice President of Student Services Tanisha Maxwell and Sr. Dean of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Rosa Armendariz discussed the valuable leadership skills students would get to learn.
“Take advantage of everything today, have fun, meet people and think about your legacy in your community,” Armendariz said.
Before heading to various workshops that were hosted throughout the day, students did a team-building activity where groups made interesting crafts such as a spaghetti and marshmallow bridge and a popsicle stick catapult.
One of the workshops in the first of three breakout sessions was about participatory governance. Hosted by Contra Costa Community College District Chancellor Mojdeh Mehdizadeh and Executive Vice Chancellor Kelly Schelin, they discussed the importance of the student voice on the college and district level.
Explaining the role of the student senate, Mehdizadeh gave examples of matters they get to vote on like grading policies and codes of student conduct.
Schelin said it provides a beneficial experience adding, “You learn skills in participatory governance that you will use in any field.”
Students who attended last month’s California Community Colleges Student Affairs Association Student Leadership Conference in Los Angeles hosted one of the rooms in the second session. They shared their experiences and filled others in on the knowledge they gained.
During their presentation, Brianna Wolf emphasized the importance of collaboration saying, “Showing that you’re a good team player, that’s super important to be a leader, you have to know how to work with people.”
Wolf added that networking and reaching out to people they meet is important. She also recommended students to reflect on everything they learned after the Impact Conference.
LMCAS Vice President Salvador Velazquez said the workshops he attended in Los Angeles benefited him as he hopes to step into the position of president in his final year at the college.
“I do want to make an impact at LMC,” Velazquez said. “I just want to be a leader for those students who are scared to share their voice.”
Following a lunch break, Basic Needs Coordinator Magela Ohare and Food Bank of Contra Costa CalFresh Outreach Coordinator Bryan Espinoza hosted a room about storytelling in the final session.
Ohare discussed how storytelling is a powerful leadership skill. She led an activity where some got to share their own stories.
Student Jordan Ramey said hearing another student’s story gave him hope.
After the activity, Espinoza told students about a program from the food bank where they could share their personal stories of facing hunger or working in a community facing food insecurity.
It’s an opportunity to tell stories to elected officials to influence change.
“To be an advocate, you’re basically having a voice for those people that want their voice to be heard or maybe they feel like they’re not being respected,” Espinoza said. “So you’re being a leader in that sense, you’re speaking for your community.”
Espinoza gave more insight into the program as he tabled for CalFresh alongside other organizations and LMC clubs at the end of the event.
To close out the conference, Delgado encouraged students to make an impact on their community by getting involved in nonprofit organizations, their local government, and groups on campus.
“It’s important to get involved because change starts within us, it starts here at home,” Delgado said.
President Pamela Ralston also spoke, commending students for taking the opportunity to build their leadership skills.
“I don’t want you just to be the change that you want to see, I want you to be the leader that you deserve,” Ralston said.
