#seeleadership: Student Leadership Organization Presented With National Award

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 6, 2015) — The University of Kentucky Leadership Exchange Ambassador (LEA) program has been presented with the Organization Achievement Award, which recognizes student-run organizations that have demonstrated extraordinary leadership, teamwork and organizational skills to plan and facilitate events that benefit the community.

On Feb. 13, Courtlynn Lindsay and Cody Williams, student ambassadors for the program, traveled to present at the National Collegiate Leadership Conference (NCLC) at the University of Arizona in Tuscon. Their presentation was focused on starting a leadership-focused student organization, such as LEA.

“NCLC was an amazing experience. It allowed me to develop new skills as I presented to students from all over the nation and received great feedback,” said Lindsay, director of internal operations.

The National Collegiate Leadership Conference is a student-run annual conference that serves as the cornerstone of the leadership experience and training for hundreds of college students across the nation. Each year, more than 600 participants from universities and colleges in more than 20 states attend the conference to learn about leadership.

“During the conference, we were also able to attend sessions over various leadership topics that allowed us to grow as leaders and bring what we learned back to UK to impact the campus and promote authentic leadership throughout,” said Lindsay.

The philosophy of NCLC is that service, social justice, and leadership are all connected. Thus, this conference offers participants a variety of opportunities to learn, engage in and reflect on these three pillars of NCLC. The skills that participants learn from this conference can be applicable in students' organizations, families, campuses, job settings and local and global communities.

The Leadership Exchange Ambassadors is an organization comprised of student leaders committed to the development of leadership on the University of Kentucky campus. The main focus of LEA is to offer opportunities for authentic, intentional development through campuswide and statewide programming made available to all students interested in leadership.

More information about the program can be found at getinvolved.uky.edu/LEA or by contacting Leslie Pedigo at lesliepedigo@uky.edu.

MEDIA CONTACT: Katy Bennett, katy.bennett@uky.edu, 859-257-1909