Saturday March 1 will mark the third year for the 2014 WKU Leadership Conference. It will be held in the Russell Miller Theatre in the Ivan Wilson Center for Fine Arts, and registration will begin at nine in the morning. 

As this year’s executive director, Louisville senior Matt Brown said the conference will try to bring in local speakers or professional on-campus staff to present on various topics about finding success and leadership in a school setting.

“Our goal is to create a program to educate students across WKU’s campus about what it takes to be a successful leader and student at the same time,” he said.

Incorporating WKU’s infamous geographical element, the Hill, into the leadership seminar, this year’s conference will be “Leading from the Top.” 

Allie Sharp, a graduate advisor and first-year graduate student from Nashville, said students will be able to attend lectures and presentations about various forms of leadership with topics ranging from budgeting to time management to diversity.

Sharp said it will be great to have multiple professionals on campus to help students with various school-related questions.

“The purpose is to get the word out there and help students on campus,” she said. “It helps with leadership skills and there are speakers on everything, and there are so many sessions you can attend. It’s great to have professionals on campus that can help with that.”

The entire conference has been planned and put together by undergraduate students and is available for any student, undergraduate or graduate, to attend for free. Lunch and t-shirts will also be provided. 

Sharp said students now have a convenient occasion to seek the help they may need to better their skills as students.

“It shows we’re invested in our students’ futures,” she said. “My main goal is to give these opportunities to students.”

Brown said he expects students will come out of the conference with the understanding of what they need to do to be effective students.

“We hope that the students come out of it knowing what has to be done and how to do it – how to be a successful leader and kind of being more successful on campus and helping WKU be more successful, as well,” he said.

The organizing staff on the conference is gaining just as much leadership experience as the attendees. Sharp said each member of the Executive Committee applied for a particular role he or she had to take charge of, such as logistics or marketing. 

As a whole, the group was given a budget to work with, and the members had to put on the conference in accordance with it. 

Any undergraduate student can apply for next year’s committee.