More than 500 members of the University of Delaware community were joined by students from regional colleges and by members of the Delaware deaf community on March 1 in the Trabant University Center at the inaugural Change Makers Leadership Conference.

UD’s Blue Hen Leadership Program, along with 15 other University departments and registered student organizations, came together to present the Change Makers Leadership Conference, a full day of panels and discussions around the connection between leadership and positive change, led by inspiring professionals. The event featured three keynote speakers and nine motivational workshops. Attendees engaged in interactive seminars on leadership, entrepreneurship, workplace empowerment, and community service.

The campus-wide conference was planned by a committee chaired by Susan Luchey, associate director of University Student Centers for Leadership Development.  “We couldn’t have been more thrilled with the positive response and broad-based attendance at this first-time event,” said Luchey.

The conference opened on a high note with speaker Bryan Terrell Clark, sharing his journey from the projects of Baltimore to Broadway, where he notably starred in the musical, Hamilton. Clark, who was introduced by a group of dancers from the Harrington Theater Arts Company performing a song from Hamilton, shared how his personal journey led him to start a nonprofit focused on building the confidence of urban youth through the arts. He thrilled the audience with a rap performance of his Hamilton character, George Washington, from the show. Clark told the audience “your success is not attached to your ability to execute, but to how much you believe in yourself.”

Junior Claudia Kaczmarcik, an exercise science major, said she enjoyed the “seeds of wisdom” Clark dropped throughout his speech. “He did a good job of aligning his personal story to our search for purpose and reminded us that we are responsible for our own happiness,” Kaczmarcik said. “In this way, he empowered everyone in the audience.”

Clark later led a master class for members of E-52 Student Theatre and HTAC, teaching them the opening number from Hamilton. That session was a highlight of the day for many. “I can’t believe I got to perform the role of George Washington for the guy who played George Washington on Broadway,” said HTAC Treasurer Andrew Bank.

Later, Toshia Shaw, a survivor of sex trafficking and founder of Purple W.I.N.G.S, led a keynote on remaining positive and determined in times of adversity. Her work in the nonprofit sector will provide valuable information for anyone interested in community service.

The conference closed with deaf activist Nyle DiMarco’s emotional keynote on communication and identity. Nyle, who is the only deaf winner of both America’s Next Top Model and Dancing with the Stars, encouraged attendees to embrace their identity and harness their personal strengths. Speaking through an interpreter, DiMarco signed his entire speech in American Sign Language. He showed a powerful video clip of a performance from Dancing with the Stars during which the music was turned off, so the audience could understand what it is like to find a rhythm when you cannot hear the beat or flow of the music. Acknowledging the many deaf audience members, junior pre-med major, Gabby Pancio said: “Nyle really gave us reason to celebrate the deaf community as he told everyone how powerful it can be to have comfort around your own identity.”

Junior Zach Burcham, an environmental engineering major, summed up some key conference takeaways.

“The change makers conference was a community-wide call to action for students to get involved in issues they care about,” Burcham said. “I learned that change can come from anywhere — small conversations snowball into nationwide awareness and policy reform. I loved the range in the speakers' stories, each one bringing a different perspective. All three of them used their life experiences to bring awareness and change. It gave me added confidence to pursue initiatives that can catalyze positive change around campus and beyond. Seeing Nyle DiMarco, an activist for the deaf community, was a highlight for me. He was one of the influencers that inspired me to learn ASL three years ago. The accessibility of the conference allowed me to have conversations in sign with several members of the community, which were exciting and illuminating.”

Throughout the event, breakout speakers held interactive sessions on topics within their area of expertise. Conference-goers benefited from workshops led by current UD students who are making waves in the community. Jonte Desire and Sierra Ryan-Wallik co-hosted a youth-empowerment session on founding nonprofits, and Gillian Williams and Armani Thurman led a session on the power of voting. Nishant Chinatala and Garrett Currie, student coaches of UD’s Collegiate Leadership Competition team, led a session on problem-solving. Other presenters included faculty members Tony Middlebrooks and Jaipreet Virdi, BHLP Program Coordinator Julie Millisky, student members of the Sexual Offense Support group, and director of Public Allies Tina Morrow.

Conference sponsors included: BHLP, the Parents’ Fund, Access: Ability Scholars, the Office of the Interim Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion, Student Wellness and Health Promotion, Student Centers’ Student Involvement and Programming Offices, UD Programming Board, the Career Center, Residence Life and Housing, Siegfried Entrepreneurial Leadership Initiative of Horn Entrepreneurship, The American Sign Language Club, the Community Engagement Initiative, E-52 Student Theater, Harrington Theater Arts Company, Lavender Programming Board, and the Student Government Association.