ACC Student Leadership Symposium
About the Symposium
This annual event is a three-day leadership conference that hosts delegations from each of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) colleges and universities. Students who attend the event network with other leaders, learn about social change, and engage in leadership workshops.
The symposium, funded by a portion of the ACC football championship game’s revenue and hosted on a rotating basis within the ACC, emphasizes engaging students from all ACC institutions in leadership development.
Why apply to attend this experience?
This symposium offers a unique experience to collaborate with other passionate students on current issues affecting college students today. Through this experience, you will have an opportunity to learn from other student leaders, reflect on the symposium's theme, and present your experiences to Virginia Tech administration.
2026 ACC Student Leadership Symposium
The 2026 ACC Student Leadership Symposium will be hosted by Virginia Tech February 6-8 at Blacksburg, Virginia. The theme is Grounded in Growth, Strengthened Through Change. Given the state of uncertainty in our world, there is not a more important time for individuals to increase their understanding of one’s leadership identity to manage challenges and lead others. When navigating adversity, accessing resilience and growth can help leaders inhabit a trustworthy and adaptable spirit, giving them the capacity to serve others. The goal is to have participants ground themselves through identifying sources of motivation and who they are. In knowing their strengths, they will be more receptive to growth and take ownership when adversity leads to change. Virginia Tech’s hope is participants feel driven and equipped to share what they have learned from the ACC Student Leadership Symposium to create resilient and conscious leaders that uplift others in their communities.
This creates a network of leaders who are grounded in growth and strengthened through change.
2026 Student Conference Coordinators
Welcome and Thank You From Core4
Welcome to the 2026 ACC Student Leadership Symposium! We’re so glad you’re here and grateful you chose to spend this weekend learning, connecting, and growing with us. Leadership looks different for everyone, and we hope this weekend affirms your unique experiences while challenging you to grow in new ways.
This symposium was designed with you in mind — a space to engage in meaningful conversations, explore new perspectives, and connect with peers from across the ACC. We encourage you to lean into the experience, ask questions, share openly, and take what resonates with you back to your campus and community.
Thank you for being part of this weekend and for the leadership you bring every day. We’re excited to learn alongside you. Our facilitators, volunteers, and team are here to support you throughout the weekend, so please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Welcome, we’re glad you’re here!
Warmly,
The Core 4
Opal Cohen & Aiden Buckner
Meghan Weyrens Kuhn & Tony Trimpe
- Expand Understanding of their Leadership Identity and CliftonStrengths
- Explore New Approaches to Navigating Adversity in Leadership Contexts
- Understand Where We Came from and What We Overcame to Better Understand Our Current Selves
- Develop Strategies to Advocate Alongside Others Experiencing Adversity
- Supporting Leadership Identity and Development in Others
The Dark Side: Exploring Toxic Leadership
- Led by Dr. Kate McCain
- Even well-intentioned leaders can unknowingly create toxic environments. This interactive workshop challenges feel-good leadership myths and equips you to recognize harmful patterns, navigate complex dynamics, and lead with greater integrity and self-awareness.
What Happens AFTER You Get Punched in the Mouth: Resiliency in Leadership
- Led by Capt. James McGrath
- In a world where plans rarely survive first contact, resilience is a leadership superpower. This session explores how leaders can prepare for failure before it happens—and build organizations that can absorb adversity, adapt quickly, and keep moving forward.
One Continuous Side: Rethinking Followership with the Möbius Strip
- Led by Drs. Austin Council & Eric Kaufman
- What if leading and following aren’t opposites, but the same continuous skill? Using the Möbius Strip as a hands-on metaphor, this session reimagines leadership as shared, dynamic, and courageous—no matter where you stand.
Redefining Leadership through Humility and Allyship: Leading with Empathy in a Changing World
- Led by Emily McCorkle
- Great leadership today demands empathy, humility, and the willingness to learn from others. Through reflection and practical strategies, this workshop shows how cultural humility and allyship create stronger teams, deeper trust, and more meaningful impact.
The Big Event
The Big Event at Virginia Tech is a student-run day of community service rooted in the university’s motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve). Each spring, thousands of students, faculty, and staff come together to complete service projects across the New River Valley as a collective way to say ‘thank you’ to the area. We are excited to work with The Big Event to create dog toys for the Montgomery County Animal Shelter!
Period @ Virginia Tech
This student organization works to advance PERIOD’s mission of eradicating period poverty and stigma by creating action plans that employ their three pillars: service, education, and advocacy in the New River Valley. We are excited to partner with Period @ VT during our service social to package period products for the Virginia Tech population!
The Market at Virginia Tech
The Market of Virginia Tech is an initiative of Student Affairs designed to provide food assistance to students who, for whatever reason, have a hard time obtaining regular, healthy meals. This situation could be the result of a short-term disruption in finances, residing in a food desert, or a lack of access to other financial assistance.
All excess conference food will be donated to The Market at Virginia Tech.
- For those flying into Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport, check out the airport website. Address: 5202 Aviation Dr NW, Roanoke, VA 24012
- For those driving to The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center, check out the Inn’s website. Address: 901 Prices Fork Rd, Blacksburg, VA 24061
- The best place to monitor traffic and weather will be 511 Virginia
Conference liaisons are the heart of the Student Leadership Symposium experience. We are so grateful to the students who took the time out of their busy schedules to support us with generosity, energy, and care in order to help make this conference possible. Whether supporting speakers, assisting delegates and advisors, or keeping things running behind the scenes, their presence made all the difference!
- Alid Perez: University of Virginia
- Amelia Kurowska: Boston College
- Ava Raphael: Virginia Tech
- Celia Lee McDermott: University of Notre Dame
- Diamond Waters: Floater
- Heba Kamal: Wake Forest University
- Hunter Baran: University of Pittsburgh (Pitt)
- Jabrea Flowers: Florida State University and NC State
- Jadon Pinto: Duke University and Stanford University
- James Martin: Floater
- John Turner: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Jonah Middleton: Clemson University
- Justice Hunter: University of Miami
- Kalli Dinos: University of Louisville
- Karl Rice: Georgia Tech University
- Kathleen Bailey: University of California Berkeley (Cal)
- Megan Andreasen: Floater
- Nidhi Gangadharan: Floater
- Nyanlueth Mayom: Floater
- Taniya Pope: Syracuse University
- Tiffany Brown: Southern Methodist University
Requests for accommodations & other questions
If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, welcome! Please contact our team at tonytrimpe@vt.edu or 540-231-9186 at least 10 business days before the on-campus meeting or the symposium during regular business hours to discuss your request(s).