Reflect. Reclaim. Re-Imagine. | 2026 U-LEAD CONFERENCE

Three presenters, all with ties to Minnesota State University, Mankato, and all at different stages in their lives, share their perspectives on the three tenets of this year's U-LEAD Conference theme, Reflect, Reclaim, Re-Imagine. Each will share their thoughts in brief TedTalk-like presentations.  

A free student leader networking reception will follow the presentations.

REFLECT.
Connor Del Carmen is a mental performance consultant at Minnesota State Mankato’s Center for Sport and Performance Psychology, where he helps athletes and high performers build the mental skills, self-awareness, and holistic resilience required for peak performance. His client experience spans corporate teams, NCAA athletics, and recreational sports, working with individuals from adolescents to adults. A former standout distance runner and five-time school record holder, Connor earned his B.A. in Psychology from Earlham College in Richmond, IN. He is currently pursuing dual master’s degrees in Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology and Mental Health Counseling at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where he also serves as a volunteer coach for the men's cross country and track & field programs. 

RECLAIM.
Brian M. Zins ’02, ‘08 is Director of Alumni Relations at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where he oversees alumni engagement strategies serving more than 145,000 graduates worldwide. Through his leadership, the Alumni Association cultivates meaningful connections between alumni, students, and the university while advancing philanthropy, volunteerism, and lifelong engagement. In addition to his advancement work, Brian has served as the public address announcer for various Maverick athletic teams over the past 25 years. 

REIMAGINE.
Courtney Igbo-Ogbonna earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Minnesota State University, Mankato, in 2015. While at Mankato, she was an active member of the Greek community through Alpha Chi Omega, holding several leadership positions, including serving as president of the Delta Tau chapter in 2015. Today, Courtney is a Senior Recruitment Specialist on Mortenson Construction’s college recruiting team. She oversees external partnerships that connect interns and full-time candidates with engineering internships and full-time roles. Her work centers on building strong talent pipelines with students and national organizations while positioning Mortenson as an employer of choice nationwide.

Presenter: Ekwegbalum Unachukwu, Undergraduate Student

The Learning-to-Experience Cycle -- explores how learning happens not only in classrooms, but also through everyday life, work, relationships, leadership, hobbies, challenges, mistakes, projects, and interactions with others. The session encourages participants to recognize how knowledge and experiences continuously influence one another. Something learned through school, work, family, community involvement, or personal experience can help solve a future problem, while everyday experiences can change how we understand concepts we previously learned.

Participants will reflect on how to observe, adapt, communicate, solve problems, learn from mistakes, recognize transferable skills, and apply lessons across different situations. The goal is to develop a mindset where learning is not limited to academics—it becomes a continuous process of turning knowledge into experience and experience into new knowledge. Participants will learn to apply knowledge to real-world situations and use experience, feedback, and reflection to improve their understanding and decisions. They will recognize learning as a continuous cycle where knowledge shapes experience, and experience creates new knowledge.

Presenter: Shannon Thomas, Founder, Inherit Leadership | Chief Information Officer |
EdD Candidate, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Leadership isn't just about gaining new skills. It's also about recognizing the beliefs and expectations we've inherited along the way. Many emerging leaders unknowingly operate from "invisible agreements": assumptions about needing to have all the answers, always saying yes, avoiding conflict, or proving their worth through overwork. While these patterns often begin with good intentions, they can limit confidence, decision-making, and long-term effectiveness. In this interactive session, participants will reflect on the experiences that have shaped their leadership, identify one or more invisible agreements influencing how they show up today, and learn a practical framework for reclaiming their leadership authority. Through guided reflection, discussion, and individual activities, participants will explore how intentional leadership begins with understanding themselves before trying to influence others.

By the end of the session, participants will:
- Recognize leadership patterns they may have inherited rather than intentionally chosen.
- Learn a framework for evaluating and challenging limiting leadership beliefs.
- Leave with one concrete action they can take to lead with greater confidence, authenticity, and purpose.

Whether participants currently hold a formal leadership role or simply want to increase their influence, this session will provide practical tools to help them reflect, reclaim, and reimagine the leader they want to become.

Participants will identify one invisible leadership agreement that is limiting their effectiveness and develop a practical strategy to lead with greater intention and authenticity.

Presenter: Lucy Bivins-Zheng, Assistant Director of Student Activities, Campus Programs, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Student leaders gain valuable experiences through campus involvement but can struggle to communicate those experiences professionally during the job search. This interactive session explores how LinkedIn can help students reflect on their leadership journey, build a strong professional presence, and create meaningful connections. Through practical tips, hands-on activities, and personal examples of using LinkedIn, participants will learn how to showcase their experiences, grow their network, and leverage LinkedIn as they transition from student leader to professional.

Students will reflect on their leadership experiences and identify accomplishments that can strengthen their professional brand. Students will build or improve their LinkedIn profile to effectively communicate their skills, leadership, and career interests.

Jared Melendez, Mental Performance Coach Background for awareness:
- Former U.S. Army Combat-Arms Veteran (x3 deployments) & Instructor at West Point-Current mental performance coach - Current graduate student (Sport Psychology and Mental Health Counseling)


In high-pressure moments—exams, interviews, leadership roles, competition—most people don’t rise to the occasion… they fall back on their habits. The problem? Most of us have never trained our mind for those moments.

Drawing from experience as a U.S. Army officer and mental performance coach, this session challenges students to reimagine pressure—not as something to avoid, but as something they can prepare for and perform within. Through practical tools and interactive exercises, participants will learn how to control their focus, reset after mistakes, and execute when it matters most. Students will leave with a simple, repeatable mental performance system they can apply immediately in academics, leadership, and life.

Outcomes:
Build a simple, repeatable mental performance plan they can use in academics, leadership, or extracurriculars.

Presenter: Shane Bowyer, Associate Professor of Management & Entrepreneurship

Leadership means something different to everyone. Ask ten students to
Define it, and you'll get ten different answers. AKA Leadership takes that.
ambiguity and turns it into a framework students can actually use. The title carries a double meaning. AKA is shorthand for "also known as," and leadership genuinely goes by many names: influence, initiative, strategic thinking, delegation. But in this session, AKA also stands for Awareness, Knowledge and Action, a three-stage development model drawn from the PH&D Skills Framework, a research-based approach to workplace
competencies. The session opens with a short survey covering several PH&D skills tied directly to leadership, including influence, delegation, strategic thinking, and self-motivation. Students see their own results in real time, and those results become the backbone of the interactive discussion that follows.

Thus, rather than talking about leadership in the abstract, students reflect on where their own leadership skills currently stand, reclaim confidence in skills they may have discounted as "just soft skills," and reimagine a concrete next step for building the skills that matter most to them. Students leave with a personal leadership skill snapshot, a simple model for developing any leadership skill going forward, and one specific action they choose for themselves before they walk out the door.

Students will identify their current strengths and gaps across key PH&D leadership skills, using their own survey results as a baseline rather than a guess. 2) Students will apply the Awareness-Knowledge-Action method to build one specific, personal action step for developing a leadership skill, regardless of whether they hold a formal leadership title

Presenter: Konstantin Vavilov, Computer Science Student

Life always gives us new challenges. Sometimes we overcome them with ease, but others leave us in the same spot for months. When the goal does not get closer it is easy to get frustrated and lose motivation. This breakout session will introduce the idea that “knowledge is progress” and help you change perspective on the challenges you face. Join us to learn how to extract lessons from unsuccessful attempts and start seeing life as a journey to your better self. Share your personal discoveries about motivation and persistence with others. Learn to learn until you can reach your goal!

The participants will learn about the "knowledge is progress" mindset and will be able to apply it to their personal challenges.

Presenter: Shar Jenniges, EOTIX Investigation and Resolution Specialist

In high-performing teams, trust and communication are everything—but what happens when we misread each other’s intentions? This interactive session explores how incorrect assumptions can quietly undermine collaboration, morale, and outcomes. Participants will engage in an activity that will all them to experience firsthand how quickly misunderstandings can form and how They impact team dynamics. Through guided reflection and discussion, Attendees will learn to recognize their own assumption-making habits, reclaim responsibility for how they interpret others’ actions, and reimagine more
effective, empathetic approaches to teamwork.

Participants will leave with practical strategies to pause, question, and reframe assumptions, strengthening trust, and improving communication in their student organizations and beyond

Presenter: Kendrick Bates, Applied Leadership Student & Community Leadership Advocate

Leadership is often developed through experiences that challenge us, shape us, and push us to grow. This session explores how reflection, resilience, and Intentional change can transform personal experiences into meaningful leadership. Participants will learn how to identify strengths developed through challenges, recognize the leadership lessons within their own journeys, and Reimagine how they can create positive impact in their communities. Through discussion and interactive reflection activities, attendees will explore the connection between personal growth, emotional intelligence, and servant leadership. This session emphasizes that leadership is not limited to titles or positions, it is demonstrated through service, relationships, courage, and the willingness to create change.

Participants will identify personal experiences, strengths, and challenges that have contributed to their leadership development. Participants will develop strategies for practicing intentional, empathetic leadership within their communities and organizations

Presenter: Ashley Singleton, Honors Program Associate Director
Ginny Walters, Honors Program Director
Roshit Niraula, Honors Graduate Assistant

Reflection is a useful tool to gain insight about yourself and work toward goals, but how do you go about it effectively? This session will explore what Reflection is what it is not, and some practical tools for implementing reflection into your daily life and/or RSO and campus involvement. We will also practice using some of these tools to start building reflection skills.

Students know what reflection is and some practical tools they can use to engage in reflection. Students practice using some of these tools for the future application.

Presenter:
Dr. Denise Crisafi, Director of the Violence Awareness and Response Program
Liz Steinborn-Gourley, Director of the Women's Center

Green Dot is an evidence-informed curriculum used by universities, and community organizations across the country that teach individuals to recognize when acts of harm are occurring, how to safely intervene in high-risk situations, and, ultimately, how to engage in consistent actions that uphold safety and accountability over silence or inaction.

Students will learn strategies to intervene and contribute to a campus culture that promotes safety and accountability.