“I am the big man on campus,” said Chad Reed when he introduced himself to me. What a relief to know that I, Angie Sanderson, would be spending some quality time with the “Big man on Campus” and newly-elected SGA vice president Aaron Caton as well. We three, along with about 50 other students from around the state, were going to have the opportunity to participate in a leadership conference.

The only thing we knew about this trip we were blindly attending was that it was a leadership conference, April 4-6, in Nashville, and that important people were going to be there.

So when April 4 came around, I was pretty nervous to go all the way to Nashville with two guys who I did not know much about. But when Chad introduced himself as the “big man on campus,” I was relieved to know that at least one of them had a sense of humor.

So we were off in a state car to the wonderful land of Nashville. On the way, we got to know each other by talking about subjects such as political views and how Aaron will one day save this world from Republicans. After 4-1/2 hours of loud music and politcal talk we finally arrived at the Embassy Suite hotel where we began to realize what this whole trip was about. The Tennessee Leadership Confer-ence was a forum where the best and brightest students were chosen to represent their school (I was finally realizing why I was there). We were going to spend time with some state senators, congressmen, former CEOs of Shoney’s Restarants and Sonic and Gov. Don Sundquist to discuss aspects of leadership.

“It was a great experience seeing how our leaders are able to make decisions and stick to their beliefs under the pressure of the world,” Reed said.

Caton agreed and said, “It was very encouraging to talk with great leaders in our state, and I think this should get my vice presidency off to a good start.”

In addition to exploring leadership, we also practiced servanthood by doing service projects such as sorting shoes to be sent to Romania and sorting and pricing clothing at a thrift shop.

During the weekend, I also learned that leadership is found not only in politics, but in music too. This was my favorite part of the trip because Christian singers Wes King and my favorite artist Michel Trait of DC Talk, gave us a private concert. Wow, what an experience!

Finally, after three days of being with a group of wonderful people who are now great friends, this trip came to an end. We all exchanged our addresses and started the long journey home to Johnson City. Getting back was a bit difficult because Chad and Aaron could not find a Fuel Man, but after driving on “E” for awhile, they finally gave in and called to ask someone for help.

In closing, I want to thank Martha Milner and Dr. Steve Bader for nominating me to go on this trip. Speaking for all three of us, it was a life-changing experience for which we are very grateful. I had such a great time getting to know students from all over Tennessee, and finding two new friends here at ETSU.

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