Each year, leaders emerge from University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) classrooms ready to address challenges in their respective communities and industries.

While these Gators gain invaluable leadership skills within their respective majors, UHD offers other resources focused on honing their skills – including the annual SOLD Conference.

For the fourth consecutive year, UHD will host the SOLD (or Student Organization Leadership Development) Conference, which offers students interactive workshops and professional insights from keynote speakers. This year’s event runs from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Jan. 18, and students are encouraged to register in advance. The conference’s keynote speaker is Dr. Abigail Koenig, UHD lecturer in communication studies. A schedule of events is available on the conference’s website.

With the theme, “The Learner, The Leader, The Legacy,” the 2019 SOLD Conference will help students tap into their hidden strengths as leaders and develop an understanding of how to establish and maintain a legacy of leadership.

“Students will learn what it means to be a leader and how to identify the skills necessary to inspire others,” said Percy Jackson, assistant director of Student Activities and the principal coordinator of the SOLD Conference. “They also will discover how to apply their strengths as leaders to achieve both personal and professional goals.”

This year’s conference will feature its first oratorical competition, which will test students’ writing and speaking skills. Participants will address the questions, “What drives you to be a leader and how are you creating your legacy?”

“This is an exciting new component of the conference that will showcase communication as an effective leadership trait,” Jackson said. “Many UHD students have never participated in an oratorical competition, so it will definitely challenge them to think about the topic and express their responses clearly and creatively.”

Although the event precedes Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the conference will be connected with GatorServe – UHD’s Day of Service that kicks off at 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 21. On this date, UHD volunteers (including SOLD attendees) will assist with community clean-up projects in the Fifth Ward.

The SOLD Conference is presented by Student Activities with support from university departments including the Office of Financial Aid and the Career Development Center.

“Students can expect to receive a wealth of knowledge at this event,” Jackson said. “In addition to learning new skills, they can connect with one another and really learn even more about themselves. So many of our students are natural leaders, and the SOLD Conference will help them realize that.”