70 Iowa State student leaders assembled Saturday in the Memorial Union for the annual Iowa State Leadership Experience.

Keith Robinder, interim dean of students, put it on his shoulders to break the ice and set the tone as students migrated around the event. He brought everyone into the first four rows of seats that lined the room.

“For 10 seconds, do what you have to do to fill this room with energy,” Robinder said.

After a giant gasp for air from Robinder, a communal cheer filled the room.

“This [high-energy activity] allowed me to get out of my comfort zone,” Dawit Tilahun, sophomore in finance, said. “It prepped me to socialize and exchange ideas with other leaders in the room.”

Two breakout sessions allowed student leaders to pick what specific skills they would like to develop. Topics included dealing with a crisis when the assigned leader is no longer there, awareness of soft skills and how it makes change easier and sharing a common vision.

Mackenzie Krutsinger, sophomore in child, adult and family services, went through the Crisis Crunch Time Challenge, a workshop featured at the event. She was surprised by how outgoing the activity was.

“I enjoyed getting to know different people in leadership roles,” Krutsinger said.

As a Hixson peer mentor, Krutsinger works with freshman students and helps introduce them to the campus. She wanted to use this activity to help freshmen understand what leadership is.

Chevonne McInnis, doctoral student in aerospace engineering, didn’t know what to expect from the event.

“I can start implementing these skills right away, like ways to start being more effective when I’m working, and also bringing more positivity to that environment in general,” McInnis said. 

Wyatt Sickelka, sophomore in agricultural engineering, is part of a new leadership studies club. The club helps develop people’s leadership while giving them a chance to learn about leadership and themselves. Through the club, Sickelka said he got the opportunity to give back and lead an activity he went through last year.

After the breakout sessions, everyone got back together and got ready for the closing keynote speaker, Opal Tometi, co-founder of Black Lives Matter. During her session, Tometi touched on the riveting Trayvon Martin shooting and trial, saying the trial showed that the U.S. legal system is corrupt and can’t recognize black bodies.

As the trial progressed, it felt like he was being tried for his own death, Tometi said.

Tometi said the trial motivated her. She urged those in attendance to be honest and go against the status quo.

“Speak up for what you believe,” Tometi said.

Emotions in the room ran high as Tometi’s final slide was projected in front of the audience. There were 10 words on the screen, “We are more powerful than they want us to think.”