The First-Ever Student Great Lakes Regional Conference

Description

The Niagara University Student Chapter spearheaded the idea of creating a student-driven Great Lakes Regional Conference. If the managers have one, why not create one for the students? This one-day conference allowed our chapter officers to network with students from IUP and Kent State, and this enhanced our chapter because it allowed us to strategically plan what events and education sessions to implement within the conference. With the students' ideas of what to implement, we truly learned more than we thought we ever would in only one day.

Implementation

We took the time to meet with managers from Shaker Heights Country Club to make this simple idea come to life. After a year of planning, it became reality. All of us students came up with ideas of what to include in the conference. We landed on having a mock board meeting, moderated by Mr. Tom Wallace, in addition to having four Ohio managers sit in on the meeting to answer questions. We won't be exposed to a board meeting until we're managers, so this allowed the students to get a sneak peek of what it will be like in a board meeting. Along with this, we had an education session from Nicole Bodchon from Ocean Reef Club in Florida, on Projecting Confidence. In addition, we had tours of Shaker Heights Country Club and Canterbury Golf Club. In conclusion, the students from our Niagara University Chapter, the IUP, and Kent State students all had an amazing experience, gaining knowledge and confidence in the industry through education and networking.