University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s L.E.A.D Association held their first ASPIRE leadership conference last week on Nov. 7 for students from the University and from universities across the state.
The free conference featured multiple events, including speakers, interactive workshops, student presentations and a chance for students to network.
The two co-founders of L.E.A.D Association are Tafari Beard, a senior moving image arts major, and Christian Steward, a senior kinesiology major. The two started the association two years ago with the hope of giving students a space to be successful and grow into leaders. The ASPIRE conference was a way to expound upon that goal.
L.E.A.D stands for leadership, empowerment, aspiration and development, and is the foundation of the organization’s mission. “We really saw the need to shine a light on aspiration,” said Beard. “How much aspiration can really change the lives of so many people, and that’s why we named it the ASPIRE leadership conference.”
Beard and Steward felt that there was a lack of conferences held at the University. “I knew that bringing a conference for student leaders here on campus was a goal of mine,” said Steward. “And once I pitched it to [Beard], and we had already created L.E.A.D Association, we knew that would be the first thing on our list.”
At the conference, there were local brands and small businesses, featured speakers and rotating workshops that students could participate in. The speakers included Brandon B. Brown, an attorney and former federal state prosecutor, and Dr. Shayla Polk, executive director for the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Drug Policy.
“All the speakers and students have come from connections we have made along the way,” Beard said. “And we just wanted to allow them to use what they poured into us, pour into other students as well.”
For Beard and Steward, the creation of L.E.A.D and the development of ASPIRE exist under the same goals and purpose. “That was us creating more and more, trying to be better and creating better spaces for students here on campus,” said Steward. L.E.A.D is completely student-led and funded, so every facet of the conference came from their pockets.
“I think it’s a great opportunity that we had a conference here on our campus,” shared Grayson Kervin, Student Government Association treasurer, who was a part of the conference’s student panel. “We don’t ever really have them on our campus at UL Lafayette, so it’s just really great.”
Another student on the panel, senior biology major Konye Brown, added, “These panels and conferences is really awesome because you can always see yourself in somebody. We all have our own story.”
ASPIRE conference is a vessel towards their greater Project ASPIRE, a plan to expand L.E.A.D association to other campuses. “We always talked about having L.E.A.D Association in other schools, but we didn’t know how to make that bridge,” said Beard. “Once we had the idea for ASPIRE, this was the key to allowing L.E.A.D to be planted in other universities.”
Continuing the conferences and allowing students from other universities to participate brings L.E.A.D one step closer towards that goal, and eventually Beard and Steward wish to turn L.E.A.D into a non-profit and see it grow chapters not just in-state, but nationwide.