Dear Colleagues: As you prepare for your Upward Bound, GEAR UP or Talent Search summer activities we wanted to announce the dates of the 2024 New England Student Leadership Conference. This year's conference will be held at the Hulbert Outdoor Center from September 20th -22nd. Space is limited and will be reserved on a first come-first serve basis. We hope that you and your students will be a part of this exciting opportunity. Staff from these programs and the Hulbert Outdoor Center in Fairlee, Vermont are working together to provide another great opportunity for you and your students. The New England Student Leadership Conference is an event that is planned through the collaborative efforts of numerous programs from across New England and students will have the opportunity to meet 70 other pre college TRIO and GEAR UP students! Students and staff are provided with an opportunity to develop, refine, and implement their leadership skills. Some of the activities the students will engaged in include: 1) the Eclipse Challenge, a firsthand look at how the United States budget is produced. 2) workshops on the roles and responsibilities of good leaders. 3) action plan development workshops that help students learn how to address real issues. 4) team building activities (on a ropes course). We are seeking your support and commitment of students and staff to make this event possible. We are asking for your commitment of up to 6 prospective student leaders and one staff member per program. In August, if space is available, we will ask if you would like to send more students. A staff member must accompany students and a 6:1 student to staff ratio is required. The conference will cost approximately $260 dollars per student participant and $180 per staff participant and will include meals (including a bag lunch on Sunday) and lodging for the three days and two nights of the conference. If you are interested in sending students, we would like to ask that you confirm by email to Rick Williams (Richard.Williams@VermontState.edu<mailto:Richard.Williams@VermontState.edu>) as soon as possible. Please indicate which program you are from, how many students and how many staff will be attending. Remember: spaces are limited and requests will be reviewed on a first-come first-serve basis. After we have reached 70 participants, we will notify you and send a registration form to your program in August. If you have any questions or need further information, please feel free to contact me by phone (802-626-5000) or by email. We are looking forward to hearing from you. I have enclosed a copy of the schedule so you can get an idea of what the weekend looks like. Rick Williams Director - Lyndon Upward Bound [cid:image001.png@01DABF10.C9D7DC80] Vermont State University Lyndon Upward Bound 1001 College Rd Lyndonville, VT 05851 Richard.Williams@VermontState.edu<mailto:Richard.Williams@VermontState.edu> Office: 802-626-5000 Cell: 802-274-5648 Vermont State University is built upon the best of Castleton University, Northern Vermont University, and Vermont Technical College. Accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, July 1, 2023. At Vermont State University, we foster a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice and strive to be a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive learning and working environment. Vermont State University does not discriminate in its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, national origin, place of birth, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, creed, religion, disability, age, veteran status, marital status, genetic information, positive HIV-related blood test results, or any other status protected by state or federal law. PRIVACY & CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This message is for the designated recipient only and may contain privileged, confidential, or otherwise private information. If you have received it in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete the original. Any other use of an email received in error is prohibited.