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Linnita Hosten

Linnita Hosten is an award-winning student success strategist who empowers students to identify and go after their DREAM career. She empowers leaders to boldly use their voice and their hearts while leading.

TOPICS

  • Civil Discourse
  • Leadership
  • Women’s Empowerment
  • First Generation College Students
  • Athletics
  • First Year Experience
  • Personal Growth
  • Organizational Development
  • Character Development
  • High School Issues

KEYNOTES

 

 

Linnita Hosten, highlighting our excellence

Getting to know

Linnita Hosten

Linnita Hosten is an award-winning student success strategist who empowers students to identify and go-after their DREAM career.

Linnita’s work with students began at age 18 as a recreation summer camp counselor and expanded through numerous roles to include: Resident assistant, orientation team leader, high school cheerleading coach, private tutor, college access advisor, college professor, and 5X author.

The high-energy edutainer provides content-packed and research-based success strategy programming for organizations, universities, and community groups; and group coaching to students.

Linnita has been honored with various awards including: Excellence in Education; Youth Speaker of the Year; 40 Under 40 in Education; Education Book of the Year; and Alumni of the Year.

She is the visionary behind the book The College Strategy and the founder of Excellence Brainery, education and career planning resource hub for parents, educators, and community leaders.

Linnita is passionate about preparing ambitious students to get clear on their plans and confident about pursuing their DREAM.

When not on stage, you can find the pescetarian in the produce section at your local grocer; diving in a good book or enjoying the company of her favorite person in the whole wide world —her sister, Makenzie

Additional Video

Event Resources
PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

To help you promote your event with Linnita, CAMPUSPEAK has created promotional templates you can use. In this folder, you will find resources for social media, a promotional poster for printing, and press photos you can use for your event.
Link to Promotional Materials

LOGISTICAL MATERIALS

Below you will find logistical resources for the day of your event with Linnita.
In-Person Event AV Needs (PDF)
Speaking Introduction (PDF)

SEE WHAT PEOPLE HAVE TO SAY About Linnita Hosten!

We loved working with Linnita! She brings a warmth and devotion to her craft that is deeply felt by all that get to work with her. She gave the perfect keynote address to our students and we are looking forward to having her back on campus!

— Ali Hoefnagel

Chatham University

Linnita was the perfect combination of professional and personal. Her Year of Excellence presentation was so well received and impacted both our incoming freshman students but also our upperclassmen group mentors– inspiring them all to really intentionally set themselves up for success in the upcoming year.

— Olivia Vecchiolli

Ball State University

Each year, I attempt to identify a crowd-pleasing emcee for this event. This person has to be someone who can deliver important remarks, keep the crowd energized, and stay flexible throughout the event for last-minute twists and turns- Linnita exceeded my expectations- needing almost no guidance. She memorized her remarks, mingled with the crowd, and made the audience feel engaged during the program. I look forward to working with her again soon. I highly recommend her for speaking engagements.

— Director of Institutional Advancement Services

University of Maryland Global Campus

Linnita made the students each feel that they were the most important person in the room. Not only is Linnita a “competent” teacher, but her passion is also infectious.

— Faculty

Anne Arundel Community College

We have had the privilege of working with Linnita on several occasions as a keynote speaker for both in-person and virtual international events. She is truly one of the most engaging speakers we’ve ever worked with! She immediately connects with her audience and, in our case, that audience spanned from current college students to collegiate alumni and university faculty and staff. Her message is powerful, her experience robust and her ability to engage people is beyond compare. There is a reason she is one of our most requested speakers. I always know our registrations will grow when we tell our members Linnita is speaking. We cannot wait to book her again.

— Melissa Hinson Leitzell

Golden Key International Honour Society, CEO

We had the pleasure of having Linnita serve as our keynote speaker for 3 sessions of our extended orientation program at the University of Illinois! From our initial planning meeting, I knew selecting Linnita as our speaker was the best decision to support our incoming students. Linnita’s captivating energy, adaptability, engaging personality, and motivational message was the perfect combination to encourage our students to reflect on their upcoming collegiate experience. If the opportunity presents itself again, our office will definitely be reaching out to Linnita in the future, and we highly encourage you to do the same!

— Curtis Johnson

New Student Programs at University of Illinois of Urban-Champaign, Assistant Director

This presentation was invaluable in helping me to realize the importance of my core values, and how to better communicate as a leader. I learned that I need to make my leadership quantifiable. I loved the passion and the enthusiasm. I know I can take the knowledge learned back to my community to be a better service leader

— Student Leader

Santa Monica College

Right from the beginning, my experience with CAMPUSPEAK has been fantastic. Any questions I had, were answered promptly and I would get emails when information was needed. I had access to email and phone numbers, which was appreciated. Linnita, our guest speaker, was AMAZING. Our students loved her speech and I was pleasantly surprised at how she would stop to allow people to ask questions and how engaging and comfortable that made our students feel. We had never had an event that turned out so well.

— Zahayra Razo

TRIO SSS Director, Thomas College

The session was very informative and honestly weight lifting. It made me open my eyes to a lot of things I’m dealing with as well as helped me see others are experiencing the same.

— Student Leader

AFLV Central Conference Attendee

Thomas College’s TRIO SSS program has invited Linnita to speak with students multiple times in the past few years because of her ability to engage with students and motivate them. She has been our keynote speaker at multiple First-Generation Celebrations and has exceeded expectations each time. What distinguishes Linnita from other speakers we have invited to campus is the way that her message resonates with students, especially those who have experienced hardships. Students remember her years after she speaks and request her by name. From a staff perspective, I found Linnita to be communicative, engaged, and professional in all interactions. She adapts well to groups of different sizes and with various backgrounds and infuses humor and real talk throughout. She went above and beyond to connect with us before, during, and after the event. I would highly recommend Linnita for campus speaking engagements!

— Cote Theriault

Director of Trio Student Support Services at Thomas College

UPLIFTING. Authentic. Relatable. Linnita was wonderful! The students took a lot from her message, many were waiting after her speech to say thank you or to take a picture with her. She connected well to our student group and everything about her resonated with our students, it was a pleasure to have Linnita!

— Assistant Director of Residence Life for Community Standards

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

KEYNOTES

Leading from the Passenger Seat

Congratulations! You’re the leader of your team, your organization, your chapter! When it comes to being the leader, do you have to be in front of the crowd at all times? Most students believe yes, but Linnita Hosten believes true leaders don’t always take the driver’s seat. A student and/or chapter leader displays healthy and inclusive leadership when they lead from the “Passenger Seat.”

The seat in which you lead- it matters. In the program, Linnita teaches students the three traits of passenger-centered teams and how seat positioning infectiously impacts and influences those you lead in your organization.

Learning Outcomes

As a result of attending this program, students will learn:

  • How to apply soft skills such as observing, communicating, and listening; and evaluate its impact on establishing and maintaining an organizational culture,
  • How to intentionally incorporate and model soft skills within an organization, and
  • How to appropriately process and respond to organizational feedback from team leadership and team participants.
Hearty & Human: Having Hard Conversations Softly

Do you find it challenging to have that “hard conversation” without upsetting a friend, team member, or fellow leader? According to Forbes, “80% of people are running in fear from at least one scary conversation.” While working hands-on with a team is rewarding, it is also challenging to learn various communication styles.

In this program, Linnita Hosten plainly breaks down how to have professional hard conversations softly so that you and the recipient of the conversation both feel heard and understood.

Learning Outcomes

As a result of attending this program, students will learn:

  • The common barriers that prevent hard conversations from occurring,
  • The long-term effects of avoiding hard conversations,
  • The three key elements of hard conversations to keep in mind when approaching conflict, and
  • Practical tips to approach hard conversations

This program can also be customized for professional staff, teams, faculty, & administrators

The Year of Excellence

Your first year is hard. A new place. New people. New schedule. New environment. New emotions and new beginnings. If you’re honest, new is uncomfortable and sometimes scary. But what if you could nail down one simple way to make your first year more successful?

The success of your first year in college is determined by the goals you set. Beyond successfully completing your coursework, making new friends, and having a great time- what are your goals? Learn why it is critical to think strategically about your college experience and how you can leverage your college degree (with strategic planning) -before college graduation.

Learning Outcomes

As a result of attending this program, students will learn:

  • How to identify their non-negotiables of success (study routine, communication needs, fitness lifestyle, self-care practice, etc.)
  • How to draft a roadmap to navigate a successful first-year.
  • How to identify valuable on-campus resources and opportunities to assist them with living out their success plan.
  • How to make a clear connection between their engaged student experience, degree attainment, and career success.
The Couch Conversation: Excellence First Starts in the Mind

Are self-sabotaging thoughts swimming in your mind about who you are and what you have the potential to be? If you’re super honest, you’ll admit that this “quiet conversation” with yourself does exist. You may be the first to admit it, but you are not the only person experiencing this mental war. Learn to win the war with your mind.

Linnita Hosten will help students learn that the way they think of themselves from the start will determine their courage and fearlessness throughout their college years.

Learning Outcomes

As a result of attending this program, students will learn:

  • How to explore the mental roadblocks that show up and affect their self-concept,
  • The three practical tools that all high achievers use to win the war of their mind, and
  • The three science-proven coping strategies to support mental toughness.
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LINNITA’S BLOGS

The following are past entries Linnita has written for the CAMPUSPEAK Speaker’s Voice Blog

Top 10 Ways to Be a Rockstar This Semester

Read more

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