Recently, the 21st annual Gordon College LEAD conference was held at Brookwoods Conference Center in Alton, NH. Those not involved in the leadership of a club, organization or ministry on campus may not have a clear picture of what LEAD is, or why Gordon College requests the presence of next year’s campus leaders at the conference.
LEAD is, at heart, a time set aside for fellowship, sharing vision, and developing skills and philosophies that will be important to our community as a whole next year. This year, as GCSA Executive President, I was the one expected to lay out the vision for campus leaders for next year, with the help of the Executive Cabinet.
The opportunity to speak with campus leaders, both to share our vision with them and to get their feedback, was an invaluable opportunity, helping to set the stage for a year we hope will be marked by cooperation and unity, both among students, and between students and the administration.
In our campaign, James Williams and I focused on stewardship of student funds. Our vision is about more than just careful administration of the budget. It is about coming alongside organizations to help them be successful, being accessible to the campus, integrating organizations to work toward shared goals, and helping students take ownership of their Gordon experience. From my perspective, LEAD has been a first and crucial step to seeing this vision realized.
Finding a time and space where the college leadership can join together for the sake of community development and unification is a difficult, but necessary task, and we are thankful to all those who have poured their energy into LEAD over the past year in order that it would be a fruitful experience.
