East Campus Assists in Developing LTC Leaders
This year, the LTC executive-board took advantage of the facilities and environment that Springfield College East Campus provides, to successfully start this year's retreat for more than 50 participants.
Once a year, the student-led Leadership Training Conference (LTC) hosts a retreat that is attended by students who are selected anonymously. This year, the LTC executive-board took advantage of the facilities and environment that Springfield College East Campus provides, to successfully start this year's retreat for more than 50 participants.
“This year was unique in the fact that we had to make some last minute adjustments and pivot to a new location for our first day and night of the weekend retreat,” explained Angela Veatch, G’07, Associate Director of East Campus and Outdoor Programs, who has served as the LTC staff advisor since 2010. “With such limited time to figure this out it felt rather natural to explore East Campus as an option to fill the void in the schedule. It also reaffirmed how fortunate we are to have a space like East Campus, that can accommodate this type of request and support the mission of LTC.”
The amenities of East Campus always play an important role with the development of students who are fortunate to be part of LTC. Leading up to the retreat itself, there is a day set aside for the participants to gather at East Campus. As part of that day, students go through a variety of experiential-based activities with East Campus staff, that helps lay the foundation for their leadership journey.
“To be able to use East Campus was so valuable to the LTC facilitators because it’s a space where students have learned to feel safe and supported when accepting new challenges,” explained Class of 2025 student-leader Keeley Joyal, who has been a LTC participant, returner, and now facilitator this year. “What I witnessed as part of the LTC experience at East Campus was a truly authentic way to connect with others.”
The momentum gained as a result of a successful day at East Campus, as well as, the first day and night of the retreat allowed introspective conversations to seamlessly continue to move forward as they transitioned to their off-site weekend location. The end goal of building on the ideology that great leaders can’t lead successfully without identifying their own strengths and understanding the best ways to put those positives into action was never jeopardized.
“Being a part of LTC has given me confidence in understanding my place within a room,” described Joyal. “I have been able to find the leadership style that is most comfortable for me, and that is only going to continue to help me in the future. To be able to build trust with participants…it’s part of my student experience at Springfield College that continues to be so rewarding.”
“What was reassuring from an advisor point of view, was witnessing how this year’s executive board utilized the leadership skills they gained during their time as an LTC participant and put them into action. They made those quick adjustments so the goals and the intentions of the retreat were preserved,” explained Veatch. “To the individuals participating in LTC for the first time, they didn’t realize anything was different this year, which is a testament to how well the executive board managed this year’s obstacles.”
“For more than 60 years, the mission of LTC has never waivered, but there is no doubt in my mind that if we did not have a resource like East Campus, the outcome of this year’s retreat could have been compromised,” expressed Veatch.
LTC continues to play an integral role in the development of young leaders and this year, it appears, East Campus was just as instrumental in the process.
