This month the first ever International Student Leadership Summit (SLS) will be held virtually, engaging student members from across ITE. The concept of SLSs originated in the Western District when students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo had the idea of holding a conference organized exclusively “for students, by students.” With the support of ITE professionals—most notably, ITE International Past President, Zaki Mustafa—the first SLS was held February 15-17, 2014, with 85 students attending from 11 universities.
Over the last six years, the idea has spread throughout ITE, with SLSs being held regionally around the United States as well as in Canada and Australia. For students undertaking an SLS, the challenge is significant—to organize a multi-day event at their university for scores of students, providing not only an engaging program, but also food and lodging, all at a nominal cost. For those who have been involved as volunteers helping to host ITE events, you understand the work that goes into a simple lunch or dinner meeting, never mind a multi-day affair. And don’t forget these are full-time students working on undergraduate or graduate degrees.
Having attended a number of the SLSs, I am always impressed with the leadership abilities and organizational skills demonstrated by our ITE student members. While they receive advice and support from their faculty advisors and local ITE members, the heavy workload rests with the students. The ITE Legacy Fund and often a sponsoring District
provide seed money, but the bulk of the cost of the SLS comes from student fundraising. The SLS allows students to take their student member experience to the next level and hone the non-technical skills—communication, teamwork, logistics, marketing, budgeting, contracting for services, etc.—helping them as they move into their professional careers.
With all of these benefits in mind, and recognizing that many of the normal ITE student activities have been curtailed by COVID-19, ITE International staff, led by ITE Associate Executive Director and Senior Director of Membership Strategies and Operations Colleen Agan, are working with students from 15 student chapters from across the United States and internationally to deliver this year’s virtual International SLS on February 19-20. While ITE Headquarters will be helping with the logistics, the development of the content for the event and the leadership of the sessions will rest with the students—staying true to the idea of an event “for students, by students.”
I encourage you to take a minute to check out the program at www.ite.org/virtualsls. As you will see, it includes a wide-range of engaging session topics and speakers, including ITE International President Alyssa Rodriquez, P.E., PTOE (F) moderating the Opening Session panel discussion on leadership. I am very pleased with how well ITE has adapted to our virtual environment in the midst of COVID-19. While there is certainly something lost when we cannot be together in-person, there is also something to be gained when we can connect members from around a region or around the world in numbers and ways that are not possible face-to-face. This year’s International SLS is a great example with our students leading the way. Stay tuned for more great ITE events to come in 2021—both virtual and in-person. In the meantime, connect with me on the ITE e-Community or on Twitter: @JPaniatiITE.
This is from the executive director's message in the February 2021 issue of ITE Journal.