The University of Lynchburg held its first Presidential Leadership Summit on the weekend of March 6-7. The event brought together the University’s future leaders, 25 high school juniors and seniors who had committed to Lynchburg through Early Decision or the Westover Honors program.
Throughout the weekend, the attendees participated in games and activities designed to enhance their leadership abilities and form connections. They also heard keynote speeches from Lynchburg alums who are leaders in business and the community.
The attendees arrived on Friday evening between 4:30 and 5 p.m., while flurries of snow descended over the campus. They gathered at the Drysdale Student Center, where they received a warm welcome from Lynchburg’s Admissions team and some University swag.
From there, they climbed the spiral staircase and made their way to the West Room, where they played icebreaker games. Later, they enjoyed dinner in the Burton Dining Hall.
It was an eclectic group. Lacrosse coaches, programming enthusiasts, football players, gymnasts, and nonprofit committee members all mixed together in the East Room.
One attendee described herself as an “aspiring cosmetologist,” and another said that he was “the head of marketing for his high school D&D group.”
Isaiah Shin of Lynchburg, Virginia, explained his motivations for coming to the summit.
“I wanted to get ahead when it comes to the opportunities that I’ll have,” he said, but added that he also wanted to “loosen up.”
After dinner, the attendees walked in groups to their first keynote speech in the Memorial Ballroom. There, they met University President Alison Morrison-Shetlar, who talked about “Leading from the front, the side, and from behind.”
The president asked the attendees to share the things that motivated them.
“I like to bring people together,” said one student.
“I’m passionate about learning and sharing information with others,” said another.
Several other students shared, echoing the same themes of helping others and building a more inclusive world.
“As you’re thinking about your career here at the University,” Morrison-Shetlar said, “I want you to think about how you want to be a part of this institution. How do you want to use your talents and your strengths to be the person who makes a difference?”
To solidify the point of her speech, Morrison-Shetlar guided the students through their CliftonStrengths, an assessment used by over 90% of Fortune 500 companies to identify individuals’ unique talents.
“The things you’ve done are meaningful,” Morrison-Shetlar said. “They are making a difference in the world.
“That’s what we do best here at the University of Lynchburg — we make a difference in the lives of others. We change the world, one person at a time.”
Saturday morning’s first keynote speaker was Dave Rosser ’90, a former secret service agent and current board of trustees member. His topic was “How to Lead in a Crisis.” He punctuated his points with examples from his career and ended the session by answering questions like, “Who was your favorite president to protect?”
“In a crisis,” he told attendees, “you’re very unlikely to have all of the information you want or need to make a decision. People are always looking for the people that are calm and can listen.”
The next speaker was Django De Gree II ’14, an author and influencer who recently went viral on Tiktok for his videos discussing pop culture. His talk homed in on the need for authenticity in social media.
“We’re getting to a space where, I think, a lot of people realize that we need people who are actually connected,” he said.
“What matters most is to be as genuine as possible and to say, ‘How can I take the time to actually connect in a real way?’ And that’s what’s differentiated me from everybody else on social media. I literally respond to every person who messages me.”
De Gree also gave a shout out to Professor Jimmy Roux, who showed up to support his former student.
“Jimmy Roux — who’s in the back there — saved me,” De Gree said. “He’s amazing.”
Next, former mayor Treney Tweedy ’97, ’20 MBA took the stage to talk about “Leadership in the community, from campus to city hall.”
She shared experiences of her two years as mayor of Lynchburg, during which she faced the COVID-19 pandemic, a potential dam break, and various other political crises.
“You picked a bad time to be mayor,” one student joked.
Tweedy laughed and responded that she felt it was her duty to step up.
“Time will pick you sometimes,” she said.
She ended her talk by exhorting the students to consider what sort of legacy they wished to leave behind.
“When you lead the way,” Tweedy said, “you don’t just survive challenging times, you shape what comes next. … So whatever you seek to touch, just know that your DNA will be there. Your footprint will be there. And you’re the person they are waiting on to make the impact and the difference.”
The final keynote speaker was Eric Voegtle ’94, vice president of NFP, an Aon company that helps businesses and individuals address risk. He spoke of the importance of accountability in work and in life.
“Owning your mistakes is not easy,” Voegtle said, “but it is a sign of integrity, and it’s really critical for earning trust.”
Between the speeches, there were plenty of activities. One game had attendees walk across a sequence of numbered plates without touching the floor or going out of order.
Another involved stealthily putting stickers on Josiah Long, an admissions counselor and the emcee for the event. By the end of the day, he was covered in more than 100 stickers.
“Aside from being harangued and harassed by a bunch of wonderful future Lynchburg students, this has been an incredible event,” Long said.
As he spoke, prospective student Shayna Schreibman snuck up and planted another sticker on his head.
“We’ve had some phenomenal speakers,” Long continued. “And they’ve just been pouring in a lot of wisdom into a very engaged, very attentive group of students. … Once again, it is a great day to be a Hornet.”
As the event wrapped up, several students shared what they liked about the event.
“It makes you feel like everyone can lead,” said Roman Knight, from Loudon County, Virginia.
“We all have unique traits and ways of going about things. Some things are more instinctual, some things you have to work on, but the point is, everyone can be a leader.”
JT Pressley of Charlotte, North Carolina, said that he hadn’t initially been enthusiastic about coming to the summit, but was glad that he did.
“I’m a very introverted person,” Pressley said, “but I forced myself to go. … I was very wrong, I’ll say that. … There were more takeaways from this summit than I would have ever thought.”
“I feel like I’ve already made a lot of friends,” Siena Mason said. “… I feel like this summit was more about us as the students than it was even about the college. It was about who we are and what we could bring when coming here.”
After the last speech, Whitney King ’19, the University’s social media manager, taught the group Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” dance. After one more game, it was time to go home.
Director of Admissions Abby Meyers left the students with one final piece of advice.
“A president is only as good as his cabinet who are advising them on their decisions,” she said. “This weekend has given you a chance to build your cabinet that will help you step into your unique sphere of influence.”
