"The VCCS Student Leadership Conference was one of the best experiences that I've had during my college career," said Lee Harding, Wytheville Community College (WCC) student. 

“I was able to connect to peers whom I never would have met if it weren’t for this opportunity,” Harding continued. Lee Harding is a WCC transfer student who aspires to be a high school English teacher.

The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) Leadership Conference, titled, “The Rebuild” was held at the Hotel Roanoke in Roanoke, Virginia, November 18-21, 2022.  The conference unites students from the 23 Virginia community colleges so they may participate in sessions and workshops designed to build confidence, boost presentation skills, and provide a place to discuss challenging societal issues. In addition to Harding, Arista Leonard, Grant Sayers, and Caleb Matney, WCC students, attended the conference with Karen Hawkins, WCC G3 Academic Advisor and Student Activities Coordinator.

At the forefront of this year’s event was the growing awareness of food insecurities. Students participated in an event inspired by “Rise Against Hunger,” a global organization that envisions a “World Without Hunger” and empowers communities to help end hunger. According to Harding, students participated by working in groups to siphon food ingredients into bags to be weighed and sealed before being distributed to communities in need of food supplies. Harding described the work, but also added that the student groups also took some time for fun. “There were games like karaoke competitions, and cornhole tournaments as well as a room of inflatables to enjoy during our downtime.” Harding added, “The food from the Hotel Roanoke was great, too.”

Caleb Matney said of the experience, “from our leadership sessions I learned public speaking techniques that will work well for presenting to a variety of audiences. It was a wonderful way to help me learn to be a leader and a collaborator.” Caleb is studying math and biology at WCC and plans to transfer to a four-year university.

Approximately 400 Virginia Community College students attended this year’s conference. The keynote speaker for this year’s event was Hoan Do, an award-winning inspirational speaker, and author of Succeeding in the Real World. Do was also a finalist for NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior.”

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