International students devoted to leading

International students from Georgia College & State University and around the state participated in and enjoyed the Georgia International Leadership Conference this past weekend.

The statewide conference started four years ago marking this year the fourth annual Conference.

The weekend conference is devoted to leadership training and cross-cultural understanding. The students participate in activities, attend sessions and hear speakers to increase team building skills.

“The colleges and universities from around the state of Georgia get involved and send international and U.S. students who have studied abroad to the conference,” said Dr. Libby Davis, international student advisor.

The conference started with a service project. This year the project was held in Milledgeville at Bartram Forrest and was coordinated by John Gormly. One hundred and ninety seven students gathered to work on several projects.

“It was like the whole youth of Georgia had gotten together and decided to have as much fun as they could,” said Rima Chaudhuri, president of the International Club. “Every morning we had a few fun leadership sessions which mostly dealt with games and interactive discussions to help us in being a team player, soon after evening snacks we had fun stuff like Salsa and Swing dancing classes. I met so many wonderful people and had such a great time in just two days that I am already looking forward to next year’s conference.”

One project was building a bridge, another was building a labyrinth with different rock formations. Others cleared out pathways for walking trails and some built bird houses. The service project was sponsored by Bartram Forrest and the Civic Women’s Club of Milledgeville.

“This shows the importance of getting involved in the community and also provides a way for the students to get to know each other,” said Davis.

GC&SU sent seven students. Six of the students were international and one was a U.S. student who had studied abroad.

“It was really great to meet so many people from so many countries and cultures,” said Ashley Williams, the only U.S. student to attend the conference from GC&SU. “I’ll probably never have that opportunity again.”

“I think it was a great day, it was chilly, but I think everyone had fun,” said Davis. “For many students this was the first chance for them to really get outdoors and work in nature and see how beautiful Georgia is.”

Some of the students were members of the International Club, which meets regularly and is open to U.S. and international students.

“There are about 80 active members of the International Club who meet regularly and attend special events on weekend trips,” said Davis.

For more information about the International Club, contact Libby Davis at 445-0874. Don’t miss the international club’s big event, The International Dinner, held in the Centennial Center on March 15.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Jan 31 2003. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry