The objectives were to target a number of different students to facilitate meaningful conversations as well as to balance the number of UWC alumni and non-UWC students. Unfortunately, due to a limited budget, the conference was not able to accommodate the international students, and the committee was only able to select domestic students.Ĭoordinators from the Lilly program worked with the organizing team to design a set of objectives and criteria for selection. Olaf, as well as students studying in countries such as Morocco, India, Pakistan and Brazil. The committee received applications from students at colleges such as Brown, Middlebury and St. Jimenez said the conference exceeded the expected number of participants by well over 40 percent, which made the selection process competitive. Upon hearing about the conference through various networks, interested individuals applied to participate through a formal application process. The conference was then publicized among the larger UWC alumni network leadership, through networking sites and social media such as Facebook.
In addition, the Macalester team paired up with UWC students from Ringling College of Art and Design, located in Sarasota, Florida, to create a website and design the logo for the conference. “ to get you wondering what the theme of conference was,†Jimenez said. In order to raise awareness about the conference, the organizing team established a publicity committee to brand the conference. The conference organizing team also applied for a grant from the Bush Foundation, which agreed to fund for the event. The Macalester administration generously supported the team, who then drafted a proposal to celebrate the anniversary. The team that laid the groundwork for the conference had no prior experience organizing and running conferences, which made the initial planning challenging. Ezequiel Jimenez ’13, a conference co-chair, spoke about the central question that started the process: “What does this generation want to achieve?†Students realized that both Macalester students and UWC alumni shared a common interest in leadership. The conference originally grew out of a conversation about how best to honor the connection between Macalester and the United World Colleges (UWC). The two-day conference will feature workshops and guest speakers oriented around the theme of leadership. 22 to 24, Macalester will host the inaugural “Macalester Connect+ Leadership Conference.†Inspired in part by the United World College’s 50th anniversary, a board of five students and a larger organizing team banded together in March 2012 to start planning a conference of their own.