Story by Audrey Schmitz, junior (ACJ)
“Your knowledge is nothing if you do not share it” – John Romo, AgriCorps Speaker
On January 14, three KSU students traveled to Oklahoma State University for the annual National ACT Professional Development Conference. There students listened to educational and motivational speakers, attended workshops and interacted with ACT members from different universities.
A favorite of the conference was professional speaker and leadership coach, Kelly Barnes. He spoke to the ACT members about how to create great moments by being present, appreciating the small things and by packing an extra sandwich for friends and those in need.
While at the conference students attended multiple workshops covering social media, how to land a job and crisis communications. The crisis communications workshop divided students into groups of 13 people who were then given a mock crisis situation. The groups had to assess the situation, develop key messages, and identify and train a spokesperson to defend their plan of action.
Other presentations included an alumni panel of OSU graduates, a speaker from Agricorps, dining etiquette with business professionals, and personal finance.
“I really enjoyed attending PDC and learned a lot from the excellent speakers. My favorite part was meeting students from other universities who are interested in the same things as I am,” said Jill Seiler, sophomore in agricultural communications and journalism.
During the last day of the conference the ACT members participated in various community service projects in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
“I think it was a cool opportunity for us to give back to the community,” said Audrey King, graduate student in agricultural communications and journalism. “We were able to accomplish a huge project in a short amount of time that would have taken regular volunteers days to complete.”
King said her group for the community service project moved boxes of food and canned goods, constructed shelves for storage and sorted through boxes of clothing and toys for the Salvation Army.
Seiler said, “Oklahoma State did a great job hosting and putting together a fantastic conference.”
