91短视频 sent seven student leaders, including some hall directors and leaders of Campus Activities Council and Student Government Association, along with two Campus Life staff to the conference, hosted at Christopher Newport University from Jan. 31 to Feb. 1. The Virginia Association of College & University Housing Officers (VACUHO) organizes the annual event. Among the topics discussed were adapting to change, professional postgraduate development, and avoiding burnout.

The topic on managing and overcoming mental burnout was one that Dia Mekonnen, an 91短视频 junior who works as a community adviser, found helpful. Attendees discussed effective ways to manage the challenges they face while interacting with residents, as well as developing self-care strategies and long-term resilience to prioritize their mental health. Mekonnen said she learned the importance of 鈥済uiding others with the power we have and creating a space where people feel comfortable talking about a variety of issues.鈥�  

Scott Eyre, the director for Campus Life, started planning for this event last year, setting aside a budget for the conference as part of 91短视频鈥檚 commitment to develop student leaders. He knew that attending the conference would allow students to connect with others in similar roles and learn about what is happening at other universities, giving them a sense of belonging to a larger community. One of Eyre鈥檚 goals was for students to gain 鈥渋deas, energy, and education that they could bring back to help 91短视频 continue to grow.鈥� Not only does this conference develop student leaders, but also it helps them develop their own universities.

According to Tyler Stanley, the area coordinator for Campus Life, the most frequently asked question the group encountered while attending the conference was, 鈥淲here is 91短视频?鈥� He said students could then 鈥減roudly make themselves and 91短视频 visible in the industry.鈥� 

Although the VACUHO has planned this conference annually for many years, Eyre said it鈥檚 been more than a decade since 91短视频 has attended. He is excited the university could attend this year and hopes to send even more students in the coming years. Stanley also wants to continue sending student leaders to the conference and even dreams of 91短视频 hosting the Student Leadership Conference one year. If that were to ever happen, perhaps students would no longer need to ask, 鈥淲here is 91短视频?鈥�

The Student Leadership Conference gives students the opportunity to learn skills and perspectives that will aid them in both their personal and professional lives. Both Abera and Mekonnen returned to 91短视频 inspired by what they had learned about leadership. 鈥淎 strong leader adapts to the needs of their team and fosters an environment where everyone feels valued and motivated,鈥� Abera said. 

Mekonnen agreed. 鈥淭his conference inspired me to treat my residents the way I want to be treated and to be there for others,鈥� she said. 

Those attending the conference were Ruth Abera, Amber Bonds, Chase Comer, Anne Cornelius, Dia Mekonnen, Emily Suarez Nunez, and Trinity Price. Two professional Campus Life staff members, Tyler Stanley and Atma Khalsa, also attended.

During a spring break trip to Atlanta with Y-Serve last week, as she broke bread with families from Central and South America, she was instantly transported back to those days.

鈥淐ertain food smells or conversations we would have in Spanish 鈥� they would take me back,鈥� the global development major said. 鈥淥ther meals, like the one we had with the Burundi congregation, were vastly different from anything I鈥檝e ever experienced before.鈥�

Kennel, along with nine other 91短视频 students and University Chaplain Brian Martin Burkholder, spent the week from March 2 to 8 in the Peach State for a Y-Serve service learning trip. Y-Serve is the longest-running student organization at 91短视频 and aims to 鈥渟erve others as the hands and feet of Jesus.鈥�

The Y-Serve group partnered with , a Georgia-based nonprofit that welcomes and hosts asylum seekers and immigrant families. Together, they attended multicultural worship services, shared meals with asylees from Latin America and Africa and listened to their stories and experiences.

The group met with students at the , a public charter K-5 school that educates refugee, immigrant and local children. They toured downtown Atlanta and the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Park. They then traveled about 135 miles south to Americus, Georgia, where they visited the , a racially integrated Christian community and working communal farm founded in 1942.

91短视频 junior and Y-Serve student leader Ruth Abera treasured the evenings they spent reflecting together as a group. Another highlight of her trip was meeting the founder of , a small coffee truck and coffeeshop in Clarkston, Georgia, that hires resettled refugees and immigrants and provides 鈥渁 central place where different cultures can come together,鈥� Abera said. 

鈥淎fter hearing her story, I was like, 鈥業鈥檝e known you for five minutes and I want to be just like you,鈥欌�� she said.

West Virginia

While their Y-Serve group traveled to Atlanta, another headed about 225 miles south and westward to Kimball, West Virginia. Kimball is in McDowell County, which is the third poorest county in the U.S. (2020 Census). From March 4 to 9, three 91短视频 students and one alumnus volunteered with Sharing With Appalachian People (), a ministry program through Mennonite Central Committee, where they repaired houses, connected with local residents and reflected on how to live out their Christian faith.

91短视频 senior Laurel Evans, a bible, religion and theology major, served as student leader for the West Virginia Y-Serve group. Much of their work included installing metal flashing and a new roof on one side of a house, she said, as well as 鈥渓ots of repainting.鈥� 

Her favorite part of the trip was getting to know the homeowners whose house they were repairing. 

鈥淭hey were a lovely couple,鈥� Evans said. 鈥淲e took long breaks from our work to sit and have coffee with them and talk about our lives and God.鈥�

Peg and Lee Martin serve with Mennonite Central Committee as SWAP location coordinators in Kimball. After their work during the day, Lee Martin would lead the group in devotionals and reflections. That week鈥檚 focus, Evans said, was on the Kingdom of God.

鈥淭hat felt really important to the whole trip 鈥� how the Kingdom of God shows up in the small things, and in things we might not consider meaningful, affected how I saw the week,鈥� she said.

Evans, who also led a Y-Serve group with Abera to Kimball over fall break, described the service trip as a 鈥渞estful and productive experience.鈥�

鈥淚 felt really well-rested from the week,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut I also know I made a decent difference in someone else鈥檚 life.鈥�