Learn something useful.

Room: Hudson

Audience: All

Conference Kickoff is something you can't afford to miss. Join us to learn how to make the most of your conference experience and receive important conference info and logistics!

Room: Hudson Ballroom

Just like on a dance floor, every college experiences varying levels of student engagement, from the fully involved student leaders to the apathetic students lurking on the edge. Get ready to unlock your leadership potential and make a lasting impact at APCA with this inspiring and interactive opening keynote. Discover the mindset and behaviors that distinguish true leaders from passive observers, and learn how to show up with the right attitude, cultivate meaningful relationships, and take purposeful action. The same tactics that create an engaging and long-lasting dance floor also work to increase engagement within any college or student group. Dance Floor Theory gives student leaders and advisors a new model for creating community, increasing student engagement, and fostering a Culture of Connection.

Outcomes: After attending this session, participants will 1) have a new framework for understanding student apathy and engagement, and 2) have a tool to measure and track engagement within any group. It's time to step off the sidelines and onto the dance floor, where you can create moments, shape your destiny, and leave a lasting legacy.

Room: Chambers

Audience: Advisors and Talent Buyers

This engaging and informative session provides the opportunity to network with your colleagues around the country and connect with mentors in your region. Attending this orientation will guarantee that you and your delegates have the most meaningful conference experience possible! Plus, you will receive valuable co-op instructions that you can't miss!

Track: SGA/State Programming

This program will show what you should be doing as a student government leader focusing on: representing the voice of the students, advocating for positive changes to enhance educational experiences and opportunities, making life on your campus fun, interesting, safe, and more. You will learn key roles and responsibilities and how to develop student government objectives for the coming year and beyond with successful approaches from an SG veteran who has led hundreds of student government training sessions, events, and retreats. You will learn how to SWOT your SGA to be more effective and get more done!

Track: Capitol Leadership

This session is designed to discuss basic programming 'best practices' and what to think about when bringing Entertainment to your campus. Setting up a Performance space, Hospitality, Marketing, and Audience Development are all touched on to give foundational knowledge of skills that are important for every event brought to campus.

Track: Empire SGA

There are so many books on leadership, chock full of skills and attributes that you should demonstrate. Del Suggs has narrowed it down to this: Great leaders have abilities in personal leadership, organizational management, and interpersonal skills. In this session, you'll learn the three most important skills that ALL great leaders possess. Want to be a better leader? Master these three skills! This is a great session for emerging leaders and intermediate leaders, those who are showing great potential and need some direction to the next level.

Track: Anteroom Toolbox

MIND over Media™ Fundamentals introduces students to the foundational concepts of media literacy in today's digital world. Students explore how media is created, shared, and consumed and why it influences the way they think, feel, and make decisions. Through discussion and real-world examples, students examine their own media habits and leave with practical tools for engaging with content more critically and intentionally.

Room: Chambers

Many advisors can feel like they're carrying the entire program on their shoulders. The strongest organizations are built when advisors intentionally develop student leaders who can think critically, solve problems, and take ownership. Discover how to identify leadership potential, coach emerging leaders, and create a culture where students grow into confident and capable leaders.

Room: Anteroom

There comes a moment in every Student Affairs professional's career when it's 1am and three students are still in the office and you know you have to be back at school the next morning. How can you keep going? Those who figure out how to survive the dreaded Student Affairs burnout factor go on to amazing and successful careers in higher education. In this session, we'll outline the key to helping you better manage the high level of pressure within Student Affairs and ultimately remain happy as you soar to new professional heights.

Track: State Programming

This session is designed to empower participants with effective strategies for building valuable professional and personal connections. Through interactive workshops, attendees will learn practical techniques for initiating conversations, fostering genuine relationships, and leveraging networking opportunities in diverse settings. Emphasizing the role of empathy, active listening, and self-confidence, the program provides actionable steps for expanding your network and accessing new opportunities. By practicing everyday networking skills and sharing insights, participants will enhance their communication abilities and inspire others to engage meaningfully with their communities.

Track: Capitol Leadership

The problem with PowerPoint isn't PowerPoint, its that people don't use it properly (or even known when to bypass it). This presentation focuses on tips and tricks learned throughout a career that started in instructional support services and continued in student affairs, honed with expert advice from professionals in the field of advertising and marketing.

Track: Empire Toolbox

Students will explore their leadership style through a fun True Colors activity, discovering their leadership 'color' and the strengths that come with it. We'll discuss how different leadership styles can complement each other, but also how they can clash. Students will learn that we don't have to see eye-to-eye to work effectively together. Understanding our own leadership style and recognizing the styles of others can help us communicate better, navigate differences, and build stronger teams.

Track: Empire SGA

Meetings are where most students connect with clubs and organizations. Well-run meetings are key to membership retention! This session covers all aspects of SGA meetings, including the role of the chair, creating agendas, minutes, making motions, submitting proposals, and voting options for members. Parliamentary procedure is intended to facilitate discussion and protect the rights of the minority voice in debate. Attendees will receive a guide to parliamentary procedure that can put all members on an equal footing. Don't miss this informative, interactive training that will set your SGA up for success!

Track: State Programming

Nobody wants to play another awkward icebreaker, and honestly, the word alone kills the room before you even start. In this session, student leaders learn the 5 rules for running icebreakers that actually get people talking, laughing, and connecting instead of staring at their shoes. We'll break down what separates a forced, cringe-worthy activity from one that has your whole group leaning in. Then you'll walk away with 5 ready-to-use icebreakers you can bring straight back to campus and run with your team this week. No more awkward silence, no more 'Who wants to go first?'

Track: Capitol Leadership

Mental health encompasses more than just therapeutic interventions or medication, it often involve the consistent, everyday actions individuals undertake to support their well-being. By prioritizing our own mental health, we serve as positive examples and motivate others to do likewise. Thus, mental health leadership can be understood as demonstrating behaviors that encourage and inspire others to maintain their mental wellness. This session will examine practical examples of mental health leadership in daily life and discuss strategies for integrating these approaches into our routines.

Track: Anteroom Toolbox

Goal setting doesn't have to be boring or overwhelming. In this interactive program, student leaders learn to establish meaningful, achievable goals using a creative bingo card approach that makes goal setting fun, strategic, and results-driven. Whether you're launching a new club initiative, growing membership, increasing event attendance, or building your leadership impact, this workshop teaches you how to identify your big-picture vision and break it into specific, actionable goals. Participants leave with their personalized B-I-N-G-O goal card, accountability strategies, and the momentum needed to turn your vision into reality. Get ready to mark off your success—one goal at a time.

Track: Advisor Roundtable

Room: Chambers

Join us for a roundtable discussion to expound on our challenges and successes in the ever-evolving landscape of higher education. With a focus on actionable solutions, this session promises to provide invaluable takeaways for anyone in student affairs.

Track: Empire SGA

Many student leaders do not know how to keep members involved. They run boring or unproductive meetings, oversell the organization, or miss warning signs and issues that cause members to leave. Retention, done right, can be the best membership recruitment tool! Come learn the techniques, tips, and tricks that Dave employed to recruit more than 10,000 students into membership! These techniques are easy to do, duplicatable by your SGA, and effective in engaging students who may not normally check you out. Learn the key features of retention, including running fun and engaging meetings, that will keep them coming back.

Track: State Programming

Do you need some fresh and cheap ideas for events and programs? Are you tired of doing the same old programs? Did you just have your budget cut... again? THIS session is for YOU! We'll brainstorm and come up with at least sixty awesome program ideas that cost under $350 that you can use on your campus. Got some great programs? Come and share them with us! Need some inspiration? Come get a ton of awesome programming ideas!

Track: Capitol Leadership

Ever notice how some people effortlessly build strong connections and get noticed, while others work just as hard but struggle to create real relationships? In this engaging program, we explore authentic networking principles through the personalities of two dogs—one who naturally draws people in and another who doesn't quite get the attention she deserves. Discover how Eevee's approach to connection mirrors the most effective networking strategies: genuine interest, strategic visibility, consistent engagement, and authentic presence. Learn how to network authentically, overcome networking anxiety, and create genuine professional and social relationships that lead to real opportunities. Leave with a personalized networking action plan!

Track: Anteroom Toolbox

MIND over Media™: Managing Digital Distractions helps students understand why staying focused feels so hard and what they can actually do about it. Students explore how platforms and apps are designed to capture attention, examine how constant connectivity affects their focus, sleep, and academic performance, and develop personalized, realistic strategies for reclaiming their time and attention without disconnecting entirely.

Track: Empire SGA

Making change as SGA on campus, in the community, state, nation, and world means being an advocate for a new way of thinking and looking at aspects of life. Serving leaders do this in a way that is respectful, thoughtful, and impactful. It requires critical thinking skills, the ability to communicate effectively while listening to differing opinions, and present persuasive arguments while engaging in civil discourse. Students will look at historical advocacies, discuss and grade them, and learn the most effective methods of creating change while working with other people. Effective communication strategies with decision makers will also be shared.

Track: State Programming

Bigger price tags. Tighter budgets. Here's how to actually land a major act without blowing the bank. We'll break down budgeting, campus surveys, and real pricing sheets — plus the docs everyone forgets about (riders, offer sheets, marketing plans, advance sheets). Come ready to ask questions and jump into the conversation.

Track: Capitol Leadership

Discover how to Master Your Influence by unlocking the hidden power of subconscious communication. In this fast-paced, interactive session, you'll learn the body language secrets that top communicators, leaders, and influencers use to create instant connection and trust. From subtle gestures to unspoken signals, you'll gain the tools to read others more accurately, project confidence, and build authentic relationships that open doors to new opportunities. Whether you're leading a student organization, networking for your future career, or simply wanting to connect more deeply with others, this class will teach you how to communicate beyond words; helping you engage, inspire, and lead with confidence.

Track: Anteroom Toolbox

You've got big goals, but sometimes your anxiety and overthinking get louder than your motivation. This interactive session explores what it means to be ambitious and human. We'll unpack how pressure culture, comparison, and constant productivity can drain your energy and self-worth. Through interactive exercises, journaling, and honest conversation, you'll learn practical ways to manage stress, protect your peace, and still go after what matters most. Because you don't have to choose between success and sanity, you get to have both.

Room: Anteroom

After 40+ years of collective marketing wins and epic fails in higher education, we've learned that the difference between campaigns that work and ones that flop usually comes down to a few key things most people miss. This isn't a session about theory or best practices from some marketing textbook. It's about real campaigns we've run – the ones that had students lining up around the block, and the ones that made us want to hide under our desks. More importantly, it's about helping you figure out why some of your marketing works while other efforts feel like shouting into the void.

Room: Chambers

Join fellow student government advisors for an energizing session packed with ideas, strategies, and real-world practices to strengthen student government associations and elevate their impact on campus. Through lively discussion and shared expertise, participants will explore student government structures, ways to break the annual rebuilding cycle, professional development for members, effective meetings, governing documents, and more. Bring your questions, challenges, and success stories—and leave with fresh inspiration, practical takeaways, and new connections.