On October 28, 2006 Penn Valley hosted the Metropolitan Community College - Kansas City Student Leadership Conference. The theme of this year's conference was "Leaders Making a Difference." Goals of the conference were to share ideas and discuss issues that students face on campus, collaborate on possible solutions, and learn about skills a leader possesses.

The conference ran from 9am - 3pm. Scott Kirkessner, the featured speaker, is the Transfer Admissions Coordinator for Ottawa University. Kirkessner works with MCC along with community colleges in Kansas to encourage students to enroll at Ottawa University. He also gives seminars about public speaking, networking, effective communication, "netiquette" and customer service.

Kirkessner gave the students a small assignment during his speech. He asked students to get in to groups of six and solve a murder mystery. The point of the exercise was to show the importance of teamwork and communication. Each group was given six different rap sheets explaining the murder. To solve the crime, each member of the group had to help with clues that were only on his or her rap sheet.

Next the students choose one of three sessions to attend. Effective Delegation Skills was one of the sessions. Volunteering: What, Where, How and Why was a session with a student panel, to share how rewarding it can be to volunteer. Stress Management for Student Leaders was the third session students could attend, all about the effects of excessive stress and ways to realistically manage it.

In the second Program Session, Volunteering in a Global World was a discussion about a leadership program that motivates young people to come together and change the world. Need More Time? It's All about Choices was a time management session that discussed some important ways to properly manage time as a college student. The last choice was The Student Voice: What are Your Concerns? a session letting students know they have a voice in decision-making at MCC-KC through their student representatives.

At lunch, each table was set up with four students and one MCC employee or administrator. The students and MCC employee or administrator talked about their views on current issues, their campus, classes, and jobs.

After lunch, everyone loaded up on busses and went to Harvesters, Kansas City's only food bank. There students concluded the Conference by helping prepare boxes of food for underprivileged Kansas City families.

Copyright 2006 Metropolitan Community College