The College of Communication and Information (CCI) hosted its 12th annual Leadership Conference on March 4, 2025, at the Florida State University Alumni Center, bringing together speakers, volunteers, and attendees of all backgrounds to inspire, learn, and engage.
The event hosted multiple sessions featuring 26 student, faculty, and alumnae speakers. Panel topics were selected from a survey of last year’s attendees. They included: 
- Workshop – “Being fully present in a frantic world”
- Panel Discussion – “Leadership in 2025 – What skills are needed?”
- Panel Discussion – “Finding Mentors and Effective Networking 101”
- Workshop – “Establishing your Authentic Brand”
- Panel Discussion – “Leadership Q&A with Industry Leaders”
- Workshop – “Effective Student Leaders!”
- Panel Discussion – “AI and its impact on Careers”
“I think [this event] is a wonderful way for us to help the next generation create bigger and better leaders. These lessons, information, and opportunities are not taught in the classrooms and are information we can all benefit from,” said conference speaker and CCI alumna Raquel Alderman.
The event left many feeling motivated, connected, and inspired as leaders shared their experiences both personally and professionally.
“The Leadership Conference has allowed me to become a more effective leader by hearing about everybody’s leadership journey. It’s not linear, which is really helpful to remember. Knowing that everybody is going through something similar is really refreshing,” said Information Technology student Maggie Martin-McKinnie.
“Not only is it the perfect opportunity to network, but it also offers a wealth of opportunities and information about how to exist in the corporate world as a person who is trying to stay true to yourself but also advance in your career,” said graduate student Jordan Brown.
“The opportunities [CCI] houses for all students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the outside community is incredible. Getting to come to this conference and be a speaker was incredible because it allowed me to reflect on what I’ve done and give it back to others to continue strengthening our leadership at Florida State,” said graduate student Bella Bozied.
Associate Dean for CCI Ebe Randeree coordinates the conference each year. He reflected that “this conference delivers transformative insights for our students and alumni that attend; from essential leadership skills to AI’s career implications, we bring together students, faculty and alumni from CCI to showcase leadership and to create a space where authentic leadership and innovative ideas are shared. I am thankful to all our speakers who volunteer their time to mentor others.” 
CCI thanks all of the speakers, alumni, attendees, and student volunteers for contributing to the success of Leadership 2025!