On January 27th, students, faculty, and recruiters gathered for the 19th Annual Pamplin College of Business Student Leadership Conference. The Pamplin Leadership Development Team, comprised of Pamplin students and led by faculty advisor Dr. Kimberly Carlson, hosts this conference yearly.

By offering opportunities for both personal and professional growth, the Leadership Development Team aims to elevate Pamplin as a whole to heights that it has never reached, leaving a lasting legacy at Virginia Tech.

The annual conference gives students the opportunity to participate in workshops from top corporate companies and network. Through the conference, students experience interactive workshops conducted by leaders in industry featuring a real-world spin on topics such as team-building, motivation, ethics, and innovation. Students also received the chance to discover career and internship opportunities with an elite gathering of prominent companies, such as Grant Thornton and DHG, and talented student leaders. The students selected from a rigorous application process. The students were chosen based off academic success and their passion for leadership.

“I wanted to participate in the conference because it’s a great way to build up my leadership skills and network with industry leaders. I also appreciate that we are learning from business leaders on how to grow and learn.”

Maggie Hwang, a freshman undecided business major.

Dr. Devi R. Gnyawali, Department Head of Management, opened the conference encouraging students to look for challenges to overcome. He extended to say that challenges give business professionals the opportunity to cultivate their leadership skills.

Dean Khansa, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs in Pamplin College of Business, invited students to look to the future to imagine how they want to leave their impact in their careers and community with leadership.

“What does it really mean to be a leader? Each person has their own story and I encourage you all to foster that story to develop and learn”

Dean Khansa

The conference included workshops from corporate sponsors including Grant Thornton, DHG, EY, Target, KPMG, Capital One, Deloitte, Kohl’s, PwC, Partners in Financial Planning, and Cherry Bekaert. The workshops informed students about building their personal brands, giving and receiving feedback, and showing professionalism.

“I always want to make the conference bigger and better every year and I have even higher expectations for our 20th annual conference in the Spring of 2019!”

Jon Ludwig, President of the Leadership Development Team