During the second weekend of January for the last 6 years, I have taken part in the annual African American Student Leadership Experience (AASLE). In just the last 3 years, we have developed the Asian American/Pacific Islander Leadership Experience (AAPILE) and Chicano/Hispanic/Latino Leadership Experience (CHLLE) in order to expand leadership development through a cultural lens as well as build coalitions among these groups. When I first attended AASLE in January 2014, it was through my role as an advisor to students. I initially saw my role as a chaperone, but what I found was a conference like no other. The keynote speakers, the workshops, and the experience moved me like no conference ever had. And if someone were to ask me what made this conference different, I would be at a loss for words about how it was not so much a conference, but an “experience.” There was an aura of love, authenticity, connection and care in the space that you do not find everywhere. As I process the feelings that I felt that first year and continue to feel every year that I take part, I think of the quote by Maya Angelou that goes, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Similarly, I do not remember all that the keynote speakers and workshop leaders said and did, but every year, I remember feeling a sense of connection with people I had just met as well as a sense of empowerment that we truly can change the world for the better.
Marana Consulting (MC) provides consulting, training and keynotes on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Based on the premise that there is more that connects us than divides us, MC consultants include today's foremost authorities on diversity, equity, and inclusion with expertise in fields ranging from higher education to healthcare serving Baltimore, Maryland and beyond.