During the weekend, 31 members of 24 ISU organizations gathered for the Leadership, Enrichment and Diversity retreat in Ogden, Iowa. Members put their phones away — for the most part — during the day to focus on how to become better leaders for their respective organizations.

Immediately, the leaders were off and running with interactive engagement, pairing off with other leaders. The outlook on the retreat was unknown heading into the 25-hour event spanning Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. Retreat members tried their best to plan around events during the holiday weekend and got as many organizations represented as possible.

Overall, the weekend was a success.

Not only are some of Iowa State’s leaders more prepared now than they were going into the weekend, but the networking opportunities provided a chance for different organizations to reach out to one another and start conversations.

The retreat’s mission was to “open networks of dialogue amongst the top student organizations at ISU, build relationships between these organization leaders, and foster long standing collaborations.” From the conversations that took place, we can honestly say Iowa State is in good hands.

One of the more intriguing discussions came with Tom Hill, senior vice president for student affairs, on Aug. 31. The continuous conversation of Veishea came up again and some organizations got the answers to the question of “What’s next?”

The Veishea conversation was not the only one of importance during the weekend’s “getaway.” Some leaders spent the evening hours playing ping pong, pool and air hockey while still starting conversations between their organizations and taking away what they might be able to do to benefit one another in the coming year.

Some members continued to directly communicate with their organizations after hours, sitting against the wall on an outlet, answering email after email into the wee hours of the night. 

At the end of the retreat, student leaders were asked to write encouraging traits about other leaders on a notepad they received at the beginning of the event. A reoccuring theme of “kind, dedicated, funny” and “collaborator” could be found scattered around the pads.

It’s safe to say, ISU students, you’re in good hands.