Priority One

Navigating Transformative Experiences for Multicultural Students
Presented by Anthony Prewitt & Simphany Renee’
The path towards success looks different for many students. This session will focus on various high impact practices aimed at creating transformative experiences for various student populations.
Room: 262 A/B

Priority Two

Inclusive Programming 101: An Introduction to the Inclusive Excellence Programming Guide
Presented by the Student Life Inclusive Excellence Committee
This session will focus on the importance of inclusive programming and provide an overview of the programming guide developed by the Student Life Inclusive Excellence Committee. Attendees will engage in discussion about inclusive best practices, review the programming guide, and reflect on how they can implement what they learned to make their programs or events more inclusive.
Room: 362 A/B

Safe Zone Information Session

Presented by Sarah Rackley
This breakout session will provide insight to the topics covered in the Safe Zone Training provided by the Pride Center.
While this breakout session will not count as a completed tier, it will give information on what each tier entails and will work with some of the tier one content. We will also allow those participating to sign up for any of our sessions! This is a great place to ask questions and meet others interested in taking the training!
Room: 262 C

Priority Three

Trauma-Informed Practices in Higher Education
Presented by Lisa Loar and Madisien Howard
This is a cross-disciplinary workshop designed to help participants:
• Have a working definition of trauma.
• Develop a basic understanding of how trauma affects people.
• Possess a framework from which to make trauma-informed decisions.
• Develop trauma-informed practices you can implement in your work.
• Be aware of resources available to support students.
Room: 270

Mindfulness in the Workplace

Presented by Alexa Schnittka
Interested in being more relaxed and present at work? Join certified meditation coach Alexa Schnittka as she talks about bringing mindfulness into your work day. The session will explore the benefits of meditation and participants will be led through practice.
Room: 260

Priority Four

Effective Supervision Strategies for a Diverse Workforce
Presented by Joe Pierce
During this session we will discover and explore supervision strategies related to one-on-one meetings, team meetings, and social activities that engage and appeal to the four domains of Clifton Strengths. Participants will walk away with a greater understanding of how to plan key supervision activities that will engage their entire team.
Room: 362 C

Priority One

Vol Families as Your Biggest Partner
Presented by Lindsay Davis and Todd Cox
This session will give practitioners the knowledge of how to best engage with familial units of students in order to build partnerships that equip families to be strong advocates and supporters for their students.
Room: 262 A/B

Priority Two

Student Basic Needs at UT
Presented by Blake Weiss
This session will dive into the evolving landscape of student basic needs issues, resources, and support across higher education and at UT. Discover the latest national trends shaping students’ basic needs security and gain a nuanced understanding of challenges and opportunities specific to UT. Explore existing resources and support services tailored to students, and uncover innovative strategies for colleagues to actively contribute to both our shared mission and the well-being of their students. During the presentation, we will also share campus data from the Spring 2023 Hope Center Student Basic Needs Assessment.
Attendees participating in this session will gain an understanding of best practices in supporting student basic needs, avenues for partnership in advocacy and support related to student well-being, and a broader knowledge of issues impacting basic needs security.
Room: 362 A/B

Priority Three

4×4: Going Off-Road to Connect Across Campus
Presented by Rachel Duncan
Developing a strong community of staff is critical to our mission of creating the Volunteer experience, and the 4×4 program aims to strengthen staff members across units and divisions in an innovative way! At this session, you can learn more about joining a 4×4, which is a short-term, small group of four unrelated staff members who meet four times each semester to share in casual conversation and informal networking. This low-commitment, high-return endeavor allows you to break out of your own office space to build relationships with new folks across campus. The Division of Student Success has been participating in this new endeavor, and we want to invite the Division of Student Life to join us! During this time, the program concept will be presented, questions will be answered, and if you are interested, you can sign up to participate in our next wave of programming.
Room: 262 C

Harnessing Student Expertise for Data Analysis
Presented by Andrew Doane, Beth Hall Davis, Melissa Richter, Landin Lynd and Kellyn Reisser
Discover how an undergraduate intern strengthened data-informed decision-making in Student Life Communications. Four different communications challenges will be discussed, with in-depth information about the process behind analyzing available data to inform new directions across social media, Big Orange Tix, the Student Life Portal, and the Illuminate newsletter.
Room: 362C

Priority Four

Building Bridges: Leveraging Strategic Partnerships for Student Success
Presented by Gavin Aitken and Natalie Frankel
This interactive breakout session is tailored to professionals seeking to enhance their strategic partnerships with community stakeholders. In this session, we’ll explore the power of collaboration in advancing our shared goals of student success and holistic development.
Room: 270

Priority One

PechaKucha Breakout – Three Presentations
Ignite Innovation: Transforming Outreach and Engagement
Presented by Mikayla Brown
Overview of Ignite’s commitment to fostering student leadership and service at UT. Focus on Ignite’s outreach across Tennessee, a cutting-edge program for transfer students, how to re-engage students, and overall results and impact.

Highlight Reel: Events in Review
Presented by Marissa Perkowski and Nick DeGuzman
This session will focus on recent office-wide initiatives from the Center for Student Engagement, how we measure their success, and how we use data to inform future decisions. Including but not limited to CEB University, Organization Support Events, and CEB Events!
Room: 270

Priority Two

An Accessible State of Mind: Creating University Experiences that Are Inclusive of Students with Disabilities
Presented by Kristi Pearson, Anna N. Teitt, and Angela Tyson
This presentation will focus on exploring the role that everyone can play in creating an equitable and accessible university experience for students with disabilities. We will discuss the importance of inclusivity and the impact it can have on the overall educational environment. We will explore practical strategies and tools that can be implemented to promote accessibility and ensure equal opportunities for all students. Attendees will leave with practical insights and actionable steps to create a truly inclusive university experience for all students while fostering a culture of empathy and understanding.
Room: 262 A/B

Priority Three

Overview of Career Development for Staff: How a Career Coach Can Support You at UT
Presented by Cearra Sears and Nancy Burkett
Career development coaching supports staff in designing careers of meaning and purpose. As certified life design coaches, we meet with staff in individual coaching sessions to envision possibilities together, exploring principles of life design to determine how you can learn and grow within your current role at the university; identify opportunities at UT that will support your professional development and advancement; and connect you with your network here, assist you in creating resumes and cover letters targeted for specific UT opportunities, and demonstrate how to articulate your strengths in the interview process.
Room: 362 A/B

Priority Four

Secrets to Ordering Swag
Presented by Patrick Lamb
Does ordering swag give you heartburn? Get the inside scoop and pro tips to improve your merchandise ordering experience. This session will start with a step-by-step walk-through of how to plan a merchandise order. We’ll share what makes for a good or a bad ordering experience and have samples of recently ordered swag to inspire you! There will be plenty of time at the end for questions.
Room: 362 C

Communications Breakout
Presented by Beth Hall Davis
This session is designed for Student Life staff who have communications responsibilities. Share best practices and recent wins, get support with challenging areas, and trade tips and creative solutions to better tell the Student Life story through various channels and means. Student Life Communications staff will lead the discussion and be available for any additional questions or help as needed.
Room: 262 C

Priority One

Embrace Your Strengths: Providing Meaningful Feedback
Presented by Paola Wolaver
With staff evaluations just around the corner, this session will equip you with the tools you need to have meaningful conversations with your staff – professional and students alike. As a CliftonStrengths-based campus, we understand how much more effective these processes can be when we share a common language. Join us for a session to learn about providing meaningful feedback through a CliftonStrengths lens.
Room: 262 C

Priority Two

Transformative Best Practices: Supporting Students through Inclusive Assessment
Presented by Noelia Pacheco-Diaz and Melissa Brown
In today’s ever-diversifying higher education landscape, the discussion around serving all students is more meaningful than ever. It’s imperative to adapt assessment practices to cater to the varied needs of our campus populations (Montenegro & Jankowsk, 2017). This session will provide practical strategies for assessing diverse student populations in an inclusive, equitable, and culturally responsive way.
Unlock the potential of your initiatives and offerings by embracing transformative assessment best practices. These practices are designed to equip higher education professionals with the tools and insights needed to navigate the challenges of assessing diverse student populations.
Room: 262 A/B

Priority Three

You Are Not Your Job. Your Job Is Not You: Maintaining Your Personal Identity Amidst a Professional Role
Roundtable led by Joe Pierce
This session will explore what it means to balance being a committed professional without being defined by our professional identities. We will first discuss what shapes a personal identity, and the influence our role has on our identity. The roundtable will then collectively discover the challenges of letting our job define who we are, how to embrace our personal identities, and end with strategies for integration.
Room: 362 A/B

Priority Four

Leveling Up Your Canva Game
Presented by Landin Lynd and Melissa Richter
In this session, we’ll take a deep dive into the Student Life Canva platform and explore recently added features that enhance Canva’s capabilities. You’ll learn basic writing and design principles to create polished layouts. We’ll also share ways to make Canva designs feel authentic for our campus community.
Room: 270

Inclusive Organization Practices: Multicultural Competence and Supporting Change
Presented by Allie Hicks and NaQuaina Moore
This session will discuss tangible examples of how to facilitate and support multiculturally competent student organization development. The qualities of a multiculturally competent organization can apply to student organizations, offices and workplaces, and community spaces. Afterwards, we use the Multicultural Change Intervention Matrix to understand how to make these changes stick.
Room: 362 C