Student Center for the Public Trust

Featured speakers included Linda Galindo, author of The 85% Solution: How Personal Accountability Guarantees Success; Alfonzo Alexander, NASBA Chief Relationship Officer; Julie Peters, Faculty Relations Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers; Elizabeth Wallin, Senior Tax Manager at Deloitte Tax LLP; Jennifer Bouchard, CPT Manager of Programs; Jack Faris, retired CEO of National Federation of Independent Business and Lisa Axisa, CPT Executive Director and Vice President.

From Galindo, the students learned that personal accountability is critical to success and that culture competence plays a big role in this world, with 90 percent representing awareness. Chandler’s presentation focused on vocabulary and how it leads into communication. He stressed the model, “Seek first to understand, then seek to be understood.” Alexander’s True Colors session was interactive and introduced the students to four distinct personality traits and paired them based on their most dominant and least dominate traits. Wallin and Peters led a riveting panel discussion on transitioning from college to corporate America. The conference came to close with a discussion on ethics led by Faris and a closing wrap-up with Axisa.

All participants expressed great appreciation to NASBA and the CPT for hosting the event and inviting them to participate. The students found the training, as well as the networking activities timely and beneficial to their growth as young professionals. One student noted in her written evaluation, “The speakers were very beneficial. The best thing about them was that I felt I could apply their lessons to my life, academically and professionally, as well as personally.” Another student noted, “I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. I knew we’d be sitting through workshops, but the speakers we had exceeded my expectations. I also hadn’t expected to have as much fun as I did. I had fun learning, hanging out with my peers, and meeting professionals. I felt that having all three was a very valuable experience.”

The inaugural CPT Student Leadership Conference was a win-win for the CPT and most importantly the participants as they created friendships, learned about NASBA and left planning a reunion.

The Student Leadership Conference is just one benefit of the Student CPT program offered by the NASBA Center for the Public Trust. The mission of the Student CPT is to promote ethical thinking in the developing character and conscience of students. To sponsor a student to the Conference, please visit the Sponsor a Leader page.