When I was a junior in high school, the Salina chamber of commerce had a program that introduced a group of us to local business leaders and held discussions on leadership theory. Well a few months back a good friend of mine told me about a similar program, Leadership Iowa University, hosted by the local chapter of the Association of Business and Industry (ABI). Now, while I love my home town and deeply value the experience I got from the program in high school, this one was light years of head of it.
The whole thing was just outstandingly beneficial. The speakers were absolutely amazing. We heard from Jim Swift, CEO of Holmes Murhpy, Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, President of the World Food Prize Foundation, Kirk Leeds, CEO of the Iowa Soybean Association, J. Barry Griswell, former CEO of Principal Financial and author of the Adversity Paradox. I flipped when I saw that last gentlemen. Adversity Paradox is an excellent book. Get your hands on it and give it a read.
There was something there for everyone. We had a politics day, an agriculture day, a downtown business day. I got to meet an individual who worked as an economic developer for Fairfield and another who worked as a project manager for an architecture firm. For me personally, even if you took away all the other awesome stuff, that sealed the deal.
This is an excellent program that every Iowa college student would greatly benefit from. Check it out.
Leadership Iowa University Website
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