Some knowledge is gained through textbooks, while experience provides an irreplaceable awareness. I attended the "Women in Leadership Summit" in Boston, Massachusetts, on November 12-15, 2006, and, as expected, the value of my leadership education at Marietta College took new shape. Learning about leadership in the classroom provides an environment which supports intellectual discovery. However, learning about leadership, while immersed in this human phenomenon, grants an inspiring perspective. Through the support of the McDonough Center for Leadership and Business and the hospitality of alumni, Susan and Jamie Brady, I was awarded the pleasure of creating a refreshed and enlightened outlook of leadership studies.

The Summit represents one example of the Centers efforts to expand the minds of its scholars. I attended three days of keynote speakers such as Erin Brockovich, Sally Helgesen, Linda A. Hill, and Loung Ung. These women spoke through personal insight, but, more inspiring, they spoke with passion and hopefulness. Each woman offered new ideas about women in leadership, but all presented the skills necessary to live a happy and honest life. Among the skills were effective communication, compassion, conflict management, and work and personal life balance. From the Hollywood movie screen to the killing fields of Cambodia, these women represented the integrity and wholesomeness that all humans seek. I also attended seminars focused on authentic leadership, effective communication, and gender collaboration. The McDonough Center and the Brady family were instrumental in allowing me the opportunity to see leaders in action. This experience will forever mark a pivotal point in my life where my passion for leadership was strengthened.