July 20, 2018 |
Academic Success, First Year Experience, Leadership, Motivation & Inspiration
By: Darryl Bellamy Jr. Each year, thousands of students begin college afraid about what’s to come. Somehow, they think that they’re the only one feeling scared and nervous about what’s next, afraid of failure, and not entirely confident in their abilities. After reading 5,553 fears (and counting), If I had 24 hours to live and […]
November 28, 2017 |
Communication, Entrepreneurship, First Year Experience, Leadership, Motivation & Inspiration
By: Kinja Dixon, CAMPUSPEAK Speaker Have you ever thought? “If only that person knew what they were capable of?” or better yet “Am I on track to be all that I am capable of?” I have asked these two questions many times during my 39 years of being on this earth, but about a decade […]
October 31, 2017 |
Career Planning, Character Development, Entrepreneurship, Etiquette, First Year Experience, Fraternity & Sorority Life, Leadership, Motivation & Inspiration, Orientation, Philanthropy, Resilience, Service Learning, Social Entrepreneurship, Women's Empowerment
Jess Ekstrom started Headbands of Hope when she was in college. For every headband sold, one is given to a child with cancer. Recently, she teamed up with Vistaprint to show their DIY Headband Days that they bring to kids with cancer all over the world. Interested in bringing Jess to your campus? Visit campuspeak.com/ekstrom.
October 3, 2017 |
Authenticity, Character Development, Emotional Intelligence, First Year Experience, Leadership, Relationships
“It’s all Just Too Much.” My girlfriend and I had just hopped on FaceTime to catch up. At first glance, I knew something was wrong. “Hey. You ok? What happened?” I asked, my voice quickening as I watched her fingers anxiously tap the sides of her face. As she gave a big […]
October 3, 2017 |
Addiction, Body Image, Bystander Intervention, First Year Experience, Health & Wellness, Personal Growth, Sexual Violence Prevention, Social Entrepreneurship, Stress Management, Title IX, Women's Empowerment
By: Brittany Piper, CAMPUSPEAK Speaker October 2, 2017. Las Vegas. Life is bleak sometimes. More often, lately. For many of us, these near monthly tragedies open old wounds of violence, terror, and loss. The harsh truth is we’re all recovering and healing from something. Whether directly affected by a tragedy, or reeling from its powerful […]
August 22, 2018 |
Community Building, Diversity, First Year Experience, Fraternity & Sorority Life, Leadership, Motivation & Inspiration
By: Justin Jones-Fosu, Speaker Have you ever wondered how one event can happen and yet so many people see it from so many different perspectives? I remember about three years ago I was perplexed by an event, and I saw people on social media taking a whole different perspective. I couldn’t accept the “let’s agree […]
October 3, 2017 |
Career Development, Communication, Entrepreneurship, First Year Experience, Fraternity & Sorority Life, Leadership, Organizational Development, Recruitment, Women's Empowerment
“Having a young leader like Kristen Hadeed in the world gives me hope for the future. In a world in which numbers often seem more important than people, Kristen remains steadfast in her belief that her people are always her priority.” —Simon Sinek, author of Start With Why and Leaders Eat Last Kristen Hadeed […]
September 19, 2017 |
Authenticity, First Year Experience, Fraternity & Sorority Life, Leadership, Motivation & Inspiration, Organizational Development, Organizational Success
By: James Robilotta, CAMPUSPEAK Speaker One of the biggest threats to organizational success are individuals who were part of a system or team when it was working in the past. Reason being, these are the first people to say, “This is the way we have always done it.” AKA, the leadership phrase of death. Sometimes, […]
September 5, 2017 |
Character Development, First Year Experience, Fraternity & Sorority Life, Motivation & Inspiration, Personal Growth
What if you could jump into your students’ minds and see what is preventing them from being the person they aspire to be? For the past few years, I’ve collected thousands (and still collect) thousands of students’ fears as a way to connect and speak specifically to their internal struggles with the hope that it […]
August 23, 2017 |
Body Image, College Completion, First Year Experience, Fraternity & Sorority Life, Health & Wellness, Leadership, Masculinity, Mental Health, Motivation & Inspiration, Suicide Prevention
Dr. Kevin Snyder has presented over 1,150 programs in all 50 states and has been with CAMPUSPEAK for over a decade. He’s also a former Dean of Students, an author with a best-selling book, and a professional speaker with a wealth of unique expertise both in Student Affairs and in corporate America. We sat down […]
August 8, 2017 |
Diversity, First Year Experience, Health & Wellness, LGBTQ+ Issues, Mental Health, Social Justice, Suicide Prevention
It’s that dreaded back to school season. We’re almost there—with the exception of you lovable overachievers going year round or on trimesters—the countdown to the fall semester officially has begun. Many students are probably wondering: How am I going to start off strong? How am I going to juggle classes along with my new relationship and […]
July 25, 2017 |
Character Development, Communication, Creative Thinking, First Year Experience, Leadership
This is an excerpt from Camille Nelson’s full article, SMARTER Goals: Begin with the Change in Mind Why are goals important? It is a complex question. It is a known rule that it takes an average of 10,000 hours to become an expert at a craft. So to become truly phenomenal at something, you need […]
July 25, 2017 |
Academic Success, Character Development, College Completion, Decision Making, First Generation College Students, First Year Experience, Leadership
A lot of people get down on college students these days. “They complain too much!” “They don’t want to work!” “They have unrealistic expectations!” “They don’t want to work their way up!” “They can’t handle the pressure!” They are not “resilient,” they say. Even a simple Google search of “college students and resilience” will produce […]
July 25, 2017 |
Communication, Entrepreneurship, First Year Experience, Leadership, Motivation & Inspiration
The more I have learned to LET GO, the more life fulfillment I have received. As I look back on the life lessons I experienced over the years, the Law of Detachment is one of the most valuable principles that I practice daily. The Law of Detachment enables a person to maximize growth within the […]
July 11, 2017 |
Alcohol & Other Drugs, First Year Experience, High School Issues, Officer Training, Risk Management, Substance Abuse
We’ve all been there. It’s the first week of school, and everyone is reconnecting after being gone over the summer break, or new students are trying to make new friends within a new community. Whether you’re considering a new student organization, fraternity/sorority recruitment, a sports team, or even just wanting to make new friends, here are […]
April 18, 2017 |
Character Development, Communication, Entrepreneurship, First Year Experience, Fraternity & Sorority Life, Leadership, Organizational Development, Recruitment, Women's Empowerment
When was the last time you really listened to someone? I mean really, truly listened—with no phone in your hand, no earbud in one ear, no inner monologue? Chances are it’s been a while. Listening is an incredibly powerful skill—and an even more powerful tool. By truly listening to someone, you’re ensuring their voice is […]
April 18, 2017 |
Career Planning, Character Development, First Year Experience, Fraternity & Sorority Life, Leadership, Motivation & Inspiration, Philanthropy, Service Learning, Social Entrepreneurship
April 25th will be the five year anniversary of my college startup, Headbands of Hope. For every headband sold, one is given to a child with cancer. I was inspired to start Headbands of Hope after an internship with a wish-granting organization. I discovered kids losing their hair to chemotherapy and wanting to wear headbands […]
April 18, 2017 |
Community Building, Diversity, First Year Experience, Fraternity & Sorority Life, Leadership, Motivation & Inspiration, Uncategorized
Legends are not born, they are made. To be clear, legendary leadership is not about creating legendary individuals, but rather legendary organizations, movements, and causes. True legends are remembered, not because they focused on themselves, but because they focused on something bigger than themselves. Applying these 4 Ideas will move your leadership from merely average […]
April 4, 2017 |
Communication, Entrepreneurship, First Year Experience, Fraternity & Sorority Life, Leadership, Organizational Development, Recruitment, Women's Empowerment
Years ago, there was a student on our team—I’ll call her Julie—who did some strange things while cleaning our clients’ homes. She would try on clients’ shoes, spray on their cologne, play their very old, very expensive and very off-limits pianos (“Mary Had A Little Lamb,” no less), and she even made a […]
March 21, 2017 |
Authenticity, First Year Experience, Leadership
Over the past handful of months, social media has looked like thousands of people all trying to have a “conversation” with their own megaphone. Most of it was an unproductive hot mess. I would be fascinated to see data about if Facebook posts actually changed people’s minds, or if it just caused us to fall […]
March 21, 2017 |
Decision Making, First Year Experience, Leadership, Organizational Development, Relationships
Nowadays we are asked to volunteer for many different things – from serving at food banks, to walk-a-thons, to participating in breast cancer awareness events. All of which are important. But while volunteering, we often act mechanically without a thought – except to just to get it over with. To volunteer is to give of […]
March 7, 2017 |
Community Building, Diversity, First Year Experience, Fraternity & Sorority Life, Leadership, Motivation & Inspiration
Your WHY is important, but so is your NOW! You have been hiding under a rock (shameful Geico reference) if you have not heard someone ask about your WHY. It has been made insanely popular by Simon Sinek who focuses on helping organizations and leaders discover their WHY in his latest book. Although Sinek has […]
February 23, 2017 |
Athletics, Community Building, Diversity, First Year Experience, Health & Wellness, Leadership, Motivation & Inspiration, Organizational Success, Stress Management
Service is an integral part of leadership. Not only do student leaders have the opportunity to inspire and guide their fellow students. They can also model the importance of serving our communities, and giving to those in need. Someone who modeled this for me was my mother. Here is a story about her: It was […]
February 21, 2017 |
Communication, Entrepreneurship, First Year Experience, Fraternity & Sorority Life, Leadership, Organizational Success, Recruitment, Women's Empowerment
Recognizing people is one the most important parts of being a leader, and it’s also one of my favorite parts. Praising and complimenting others has always come naturally to me, and I love making people feel good about themselves. But the first time I remember my positive words really making an impact on someone […]
February 6, 2017 |
Community Building, Creative Thinking, First Year Experience
It’s pretty uncommon these days for anyone to encourage you to make a mistake, let alone celebrate one. A mistake is considered to be the opposite of a success and therefore something to be avoided in our success-focused culture. But what if I told you that it’s not so simple – that mistakes are crucial for […]
February 6, 2017 |
Communication, Entrepreneurship, First Year Experience, Leadership
“I do not have the personality to be a great salesperson.” I may be the first one to tell you this, but personally believing in that statement can be a major hindrance to your personal and business progression. Out of every ten salespeople that you meet, two usually have the personality of a […]
January 26, 2017 |
College Completion, First Year Experience, Fraternity & Sorority Life, Leadership, Motivation & Inspiration
Leadership is… action, not position. transformation, not a transaction. influence, not management. a verb, not a noun. Whether I am speaking to student audiences or corporate organizations, the challenges and frustrations I hear leaders talk about have common threads. The seasoned executive and department manager are very likely dealing with many of the same […]
October 11, 2016 |
Communication, Entrepreneurship, First Year Experience, Leadership
“After I finish college or graduate school, I am going to attack my first job with the same intensity as school and set short term goals to stay motivated.” This thought seems like the best way for all college students to look at the next phase of their lives, but based on recent statistics, […]
October 11, 2016 |
Community Building, Diversity, First Year Experience, Fraternity & Sorority Life, Leadership, Motivation & Inspiration
When you think of a leader what do you initially think of? Do you think of a person that is a great delegator, a great communicator and an inspirer? Well one of the most underrated qualities of a great leader is humility. I am sorry that I said the bad “H” word, but it is true. While many leaders […]
September 27, 2016 |
Authenticity, First Year Experience, Leadership
What a significant time to be a friend, mentor, supervisor and/or parent. The past few weeks have been a very eye-opening time in the United States. I hope that if you identify as one the things I listed above you have not turned a blind eye to it. Race relations and systematic oppression are still […]
September 13, 2016 |
College Completion, First Year Experience, Fraternity & Sorority Life, Leadership, Motivation & Inspiration
Whether he’s speaking to college students or corporate executives, Kevin Snyder engages and entertains audiences by sharing powerful lessons of leadership inspiring them to think bigger, overcome adversity and work together to achieve common goals. Kevin has presented over 1,150 programs in all 50 states and has been with CAMPUSPEAK for nearly a decade. He’s […]
August 2, 2016 |
First Year Experience, Leadership, Motivation & Inspiration
Many first year students come to college excited, nervous and a little afraid. They are excited to leave high school and embark on a new journey in life. They are nervous because often times it’s their first time away from home. Will they meet new friends? “Will I meet new friends?” they asked themselves. Or […]
September 15, 2015 |
First Year Experience, Millennials
The world makes us believe that a big gift box is magically going to show up on our doorstep one day when we are least expecting it. When we see it, we’ll know it’s our passion and what we were always meant to be doing. How will we know? “It will just feel right,” they […]
August 26, 2015 |
First Year Experience
My first week of college at North Carolina State University was one of the most nervous and exciting times in my life. Meeting tons of new people, decorating your dorm, finding your classes on campus, and not to mention the millions of free t-shirts you get. But during a time of so much change and […]
April 17, 2015 |
First Year Experience
Orientation—one process every new student on campus must go through. With the billion questions that are running through every first year students’ head, James Robilotta answers probably the most important one—Will they make fun of my sheets? James, CAMPUSPEAK speaker and funny man, has worked in residence life for almost ten years, seven of those […]
September 17, 2013 |
First Year Experience, Leadership
How many people do you know that have started an organization? How about an organization based on their passion? And that person just so happened to launch their career when she was a 21-year-old student in-between class? Yeah, we only know one, too. Meet Jessica Ekstrom. You can call her Jess. Jess is proof that […]
August 6, 2013 |
First Year Experience
Whether you are a student or work professionally in Student Affairs, summer break is often a time for warranted vacations, pool-side BBQ’s, and perhaps getting caught up on projects silently lingering from spring. Summer should also be an opportunity for personal reflection and rejuvenation, reading a few great pleasure books (or at least audio books!), […]
June 5, 2013 |
Diversity, First Year Experience, Health & Wellness
The first year of college is huge. Students start their independent lives in a totally new environment, with new people and new decisions to be made. We all could use a little guidance every now and then—and Elaine Penn strives to help guide students to a place that will benefit them the most in college. […]
May 1, 2013 |
First Year Experience, News
CAMPUSPEAK is helping you prepare new students for an unforgettable experience. New students, having just completed the major educational milestone of high school graduation, feel on top of the world and ready to tackle college. Some will feel completely prepared for this new experience, but most will run a gamut of emotions: happiness about gaining […]
November 6, 2012 |
Community Building, First Year Experience
by James Robilotta Alright friends, we are two months into the semester. By now you have taken midterms, gotten tired of the dining hall food—except for the omelets and waffles, owned the fact that you and roommate aren’t quite “besties”, and realized, more than ever, you LOVE college. Well before you flip the cruise control […]
