Donald V. Adams Leadership Academy

This weekend is the Annual Fall Leadership Conference hosted by the Donald V. Adams Leadership Academy at Drake University. The Adams Academy is a multi-dimensional leadership program at Drake that provides students the leadership skills to be strong and passionate leaders on and off campus. I joined the Adams Academy as a first year student and I continue to be involved on the National Advisory Council. When you find a program that has so many passionate stakeholders and grateful beneficiaries, you jump on board and stay with it for as long as possible!!

This weekend is a very special weekend in that there is a very special program planned that will forever change both the Fall and Spring Leadership Conference. I can't give away the details on that though, you'll see more about it in the coming days.

I had the great fortune of getting involved with the Adams Academy, Dr. Don Adams and Jan Wise as a First Year Student and I truly believe that the program forever changed who I am. The programming helped me develop my devotion to servant leadership, committed me to leadership development at Drake, provided me tangible steps I could take to better my campus and my community, and introduced me to many lifelong friends. The program is multi-dimensional, there is a terrific Emerging Leaders Model (ELM) for first year students, the Adams Academy for sophomore through senior students, a academic concentration in Leadership, various leadership conferences and speakers throughout the year, an annual awards banquet to recognize outstanding students and programs, and a Senior Reflections program for seniors who have been active on campus for 4 years.

This year's fall conference will provide students with dynamic speakers, hands on breakout sessions, team building workshops and a great deal of fun as they develop their leadership skills. This will be my 7th conference, and let me say, if you are a student at Drake, there's no other place you should be on Saturday. It is the best leadership conference I have ever attended. You'll have fun and walk away with more than you know. Beyond the programming, there are great people to meet including fellow students, faculty members and presenters from all over the country.

Also, make sure you take a moment and introduce yourself to Dr. Don Adams.