On Saturday, March 2, students braved the rain and gathered in Trabant University Center for the inaugural Amplify Leadership Conference. Amplify is a new spin on the Change Makers Conference, which was implemented in 2020 — under Creative Leadership, Innovation and Service’s (CLIS) former department name, Blue Hen Leadership Program (BHLP) — scaling back three rounds of breakout sessions to two rounds and one keynote speaker versus multiple.

Organized by CLIS, the conference included six total workshop topics for students, including restorative yoga, a discussion on the “comeback of kindness” and a cooking demonstration from local celebrity Chef Robbie Jester in the Vita Nova test kitchen.

“The main goal of Amplify is to expose students to new ideas and get them thinking differently about the world,” said Valerie Lane, assistant director of leadership development. “We selected sessions that contributed to this goal and had elements of leadership development. We wanted to reach students who don’t necessarily see themselves as leaders and expose them to new experiences.”

“We know students like time to connect with one another and don’t want to be sitting in conference rooms just listening all day,” Lane said. “This offers more time for students to engage in independent activities like crafting and engaging with our event host and DJ for games and energizers.”

Host Blake Saunders kept the energy up with help from DJ Maze. He kicked off the event with a Name That Tune competition, which saw a first-year student face off against a third-year doctoral student by serenading the room with a chorus of “Hey There Delilah,” followed by a Deal or No Deal-styled prize selection. Later in the day, Saunders led two groups in Family Feud and several impromptu dance-offs.

Junior nursing major Jackson Tomasco helped organize the event as a Leadership and Service Ambassador and said he was impressed by the altered format, which allowed for more fun and camaraderie between sessions.

“I’ve been committed to leadership and service programs since my freshman year,” Tomasco said. “I was really excited for something new and different from Change Makers. This is a fresh idea and brings a whole new look to leadership, so I feel really passionate about this conference.” 

Sophomore English education major and Leadership and Service Ambassador Richard Oboryshko agreed about the need for a new format.

“Last year, the workshops were a little disconnected,” he said. “But here everything is in one place. The different topics are really useful, especially learning how to create an elevator pitch.”

In a session led by Nicholas Gadino, associate director for communication studies at the University Writing Center, students learned the fundamentals of introducing themselves and stating their qualifications for employers for the duration of an actual elevator ride from the second floor of Trabant to the first.

First-year music education major Meg Harkness said she was motivated to attend because of a session led by Horn Entrepreneurship Youth Programs Coordinator Maggie Nelson on being true to your authentic self on your career path.

“I took a leadership class last semester, and Maggie was the TA,” Harkness said. “I thought this was an opportunity for networking and learning more.”

A favorite session among student attendees was the cooking demonstration with Chef Robbie Jester, who dished about his experience winning cooking competitions Pressure Cooker, Guy’s Grocery Games and Beat Bobby Flay while preparing and serving chicken Alfredo. A Culinary Institute of America graduate, Jester spoke on his more laid-back approach to running a kitchen and poking fun at the uptight culture modeled in The Bear.

“Parts of that show are true to life,” said Jester. “You’ll find that attitude in some high-end restaurants. But the ‘Yes, Chef’ thing is getting out of control. You have people saying that in the kitchen at Applebee’s now. No disrespect to Applebee’s, of course; their triple chocolate meltdown is insane.”