Written by Whitney Dixon
Senior Gabby Marcellini said that she has known she was a leader for years:
She remembers being secretary of her student council in fourth grade and being frustrated when things were not accomplished. Now, with graduation around the corner, she said she is looking for ways to use her leadership skills in the future. Campus Leaders Today, Community Leaders Tomorrow, a conference held in Richmond, Va., on March 10-13, has helped her take steps in that direction.
The conference is a program of Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Collegiate Leadership Honor Society. Marcellini was inducted to the Harding chapter of the society last April and currently serves as secretary.
Marcellini said Josh Bakke, a Harding alumnus, told her about the conference. She said he really could not explain in words all that he got from the conference, but he said it was a worthwhile experience that she should participate in. She went through the application process and was accepted. She was one of only 40 students selected to attend nationwide.
According to the Omicron Delta Kappa website, the main focus of the conference is to prepare young leaders for service on the boards of nonprofit organizations. Marcellini did not have any experience with nonprofits, and she said she actually expected the conference to be a more generalized conference about nonprofit organizations rather than specifically about working on a board. However, despite not being exactly what she expected, Marcellini said the conference was a valuable experience.
“It’s just this wealth of information that I can’t put into words,” Marcellini said. “It was just life experience and preparation for the future.”
Marcellini has already held various leadership positions on campus. She has been most involved with the Multi-Cultural Student Action Committee and the Honors College. She is currently the president of the Honors Council, and though she is not presently an officer of MSAC, she played a major role in re-founding the organization upon returning to Harding after a semester in Chile and finding that it had been disbanded due to lack of interest.
“There was a lot of apathy among the students and very little involvement,” Butch Gardner, director of First-Year Experience and faculty sponsor of the Multi-Cultural Student Action Committee, said. “Through Gabby’s energy and leadership on campus she gave MSAC a much-needed shot in the arm. As a direct result of her leadership, student participation in the programs increased almost immediately.”
Marcellini said being a leader is just part of who she is. She will have the opportunity to take on another leadership role after college: Though the papers have not been signed, Marcellini said she has formally been offered the job as the assistant at HULA next fall. After that, she said she does not have definite plans. However, she said the conference gave her confidence in that area of her life as well.
“I came to the conclusion that I am passionate about making others feel loved and encouraged and empowered, and that’s my goal,” Marcellini said. “I also came to the conclusion that I could be happy doing that in any type of scenario. As long as I’m giving them hope and making them feel that they can change their life, they can change the world essentially: That’s what makes me happy. That’s what the conference did for me.”
