The Center for Leadership’s annual Cannon Celebration, held May 6 in McKinnon Hall, celebrated the leadership-related achievements and legacies of students over the past year. Those invited included faculty and staff in association with the Center for Leadership, as well as students who have completed any number of CFL-sponsored initiatives during the past school year.
Graduating seniors were recognized for completion of the Isabella Cannon Leadership Program, while underclassmen were celebrated for finishing Tier One or Tier Two of the Leadership Education And Development (LEAD) program. The evening began with a mingling session during which seniors displayed their culminating legacy projects on poster boards throughout the room, while other attendees gathered ideas and inspiration for legacy projects yet to come.
Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) award recipients Samantha Italiano and Ashley Fowler were recognized for their service work in Burlington and Africa, respectively, while seniors were surprised with a folder containing everything they have submitted to the CFL over the past four years, including the unopened letters written to themselves during their first semester freshman year.
The featured speaker for the evening was alumnus and former Isabella Cannon Leadership Fellow Brett Cooper, who spoke about the benefits and blessings of an Elon legacy. Student speaker Laura Lee Sturm (’13) likewise gave a moving account of the potential every single person has to define his or her own personal definition of leadership, both at Elon and beyond.
All told, the event was an inspiring evening that left faculty and students alike pleased with their accomplishments, and—perhaps more importantly—confident in what is in store for Elon’s next generation of leaders.
