Leadership Conference

Currently in its 18th year, the Mortar Board Leadership Conference (MBLC) is the largest and most affordable student leadership conference in the area. MBLC hosts over 300 Purdue students for a Saturday filled with breakout sessions, speakers, and networking. MBLC offers students 6 different breakout sessions by professionals that focus on issues relating to mental, physical, and spiritual leadership. Each speaker is presenting for the first time at MBLC, providing students the opportunity to experience MBLC like never before.

Each year, a group of committed student leaders from Mortar Board hosts the conference. These students are responsible for the overall direction of the conference. Students plan everything from the conference theme to breakout sessions to speakers.

MBLC attracts students from all areas of campus. Each year, students involved with student government, multi-cultural centers, student clubs & organizations, residence life, and Greek life attend the conference. Every major and classification can have a positive experience at MBLC.

MBLC 2009 featured:

Ann M. Babiarz, principal & founder of E.I. Associates, LLC and The Global Transformation Company, Ann Babiarz Coaching, LLC (a division of The Global Transformation Company) and host of the popular radio show "Life Outside the Box", assists individuals to transform from the inside-out to empower them to experience lasting change and to live the lives that they aspire to live.

What is the single most important factor that distinguishes great leaders from the rest? Which personal quality is most likely to inspire confidence in customers, respect among colleagues, and loyalty from employees? Which aspect of your leadership style should you focus on to put your performance, your career, and your life on the fast track to success?

The answer to all of these questions is a single word, energy. But you need to know how to control energy to make it work for you and not against you.

In this workshop, Ann M. Babiarz, will show you why the way you use your energy will determine whether you and your organization thrive. She will help you become more aware of your personal power, in the workplace, at school, and in the world at large. And, she will show you how to become a powerful leader, one who motivates others to reach their true potential.

Jon Bohm is the CEO and President of Driven Associates, a business columnist for several publications, and was featured on the New York documentary, "Life's Good." Jon has personally mentored and coached countless CEO's, Managers, staff of Division 1 sports teams, professional sales people that have reached the Million Dollar round table, and the top 1% of all professional Sales in the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.

You have Once Chance at this life- Are you realizing your potential? Can you motivate others to realize theirs? As a leader you have to learn how to not only lead yourself, but also motivate others into High Performance Teams. Come and discover what motivates you through self-leadership and how to develop others to peak performance in this interactive session.

You will learn: The Formula for Success - What they never teach you in school, How to inspire and motivate yourself and others, and 7 Simple Steps to achieving your dreams.

"Your greatest gift is the ability to wake up and live. Your greatest decision is what you do with that gift."- Jon Bohm

Susan Bulkeley Butler is one of America's preeminent experts on the subject of women's leadership development, which is addressed in her new book Become the CEO of You, Inc. Susan was the first woman professional hired by Arthur Andersen and the first woman partner at Andersen Consulting/Accenture. During her 36-year career she was in the forefront of dramatic changes in the corporate world, and retired as the Managing Partner of the Office of the CEO for Chairman & CEO Joe Forehand. Susan is a graduate of Purdue University, where she received an honorary doctorate in management in 1999, and is currently on the Board of Trustees.

Imagine being President- Elect Barack Obama. How did he become the next President of the United States? And, imagine if you used the same concepts to "make things happen for you, rather than let things happen to you?" How do you make your dreams happen? This workshop promotes you to the leader of YOU, the CEO. You will learn to take personal responsibility for who you want to be, build a team, create a plan, reach out for help from mentors, build networks, take risks and much more. You will "become the CEO of You, Inc."

Kay is a Purdue graduate in chemical engineering and received her MBA from Indiana University. She has spent her entire career with Eli Lilly and Co, starting as a process engineer. During the first 17 years, her career was in the Engineering area, moving through a variety of management positions. In her last engineering role, Kay was the Director of Facilities Management, where she oversaw the day to day facility operations for two locations, including the corporate headquarters. Operations included maintenance, utilities, project management, engineering and all support operations with a $60 million operating budget. Ready for something different, Kay moved to an HR assignment and has spent the last 12 years working in different HR assignments. She lead the HR implementation on a global, integrated IT system, SAP, that is still used across all of Eli Lilly for HR, finance and supply chain. Today, she is responsible for the Employee Relations and HR Operations Support for the 7600 employees working in US sales and marketing.

OK, so you're female. There's not much you can do about that! You're smart, motivated and have awesome leadership skills. Do you really have to become one of the boys to climb the corporate ladder? Do you have to work twice as hard to get half as far?

In this workshop, Kay will discuss some common differences between men and women leaders and how those differences can be leveraged, not ignored, for success in a business environment. She will share some common misperceptions and career-killing mistakes women make in the workplace. Learn some tips for working through difficult situations that can come up as a result of our gender differences and a few simple ways to overcome the barriers.

Humberto has earned a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology, from Northern IL University, with an emphasis in Athletic Training and Cardiac Rehabilitation. His expertise is in Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Sports Performance. He has experience working in a clinical setting, as well as, recreational, collegiate and adolescent athletes. He has been a highly competitive wrestler, weightlifter, and bodybuilder. He now pursues adventure travel and owns Triumph: Sports Medicine & Performance. Humberto has also implemented his unique ability of "Kinesthetic Awareness Training" to enhance "Personal Development & Self Awareness".

The purpose of this discussion is to implement the concept of "Personal Development & Self Awareness" into your current exercise program. Train the entire body with precision movements that teach muscles how to react quickly and efficiently. Experience new variations of traditional exercises that challenge balance and body awareness while developing muscular strength and endurance. Learn how these techniques can impact your pursuit of Personal Development through an integration of mind/body exercises, and how the concept of "Self Awareness" impacts leadership.

Linda Wokoun is senior vice president of customer operations for Cricket Communications, where she is responsible for the quality of the Company's customer facing processes, as well as programs focused on the Cricket customer lifecycle from adoption to retention.

Linda has nearly 20 years of industry experience, including leadership roles at RiverStar Software, iPCS (a Sprint PCS affiliate), Ameritech Cellular, and CyberTel Cellular.

She holds an M.B.A. in finance from the Kelley Graduate School of Business at Indiana University, as well as a bachelorÍs degree in economics from Indiana University. Linda has been married to Rick Wokoun for 28 years. They have three sons - all in college.

In this workshop, Linda will discuss the various stages of career development and the likely opportunities, land-mines, and events that can happen. You will have a chance to describe how you see your career and personal life unfolding in the future.

Challenges happen throughout your life, so you'll learn what challenges typically happen at various stages in your life and then discuss how they might affect your ability to manage a work-life balance. So how do you find the right balance? Do what works. Linda will explain what works, what doesn't, and where you can turn to when navigating life.