In February, RCEL sponsored Eduard Danalache, a sophomore studying computer science, to attend the Hatton W. Sumners Student Leadership Conference in Austin, Texas. The Sumners Leadership Conference is coordinated by the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and focuses on developing the leadership potential of current students in higher education.
“Throughout the conference,” Danalache said, “I had the opportunity to meet student leaders from schools across North America and learn a great deal about leadership.
“My interactions with the other students emphasized different styles of leadership, especially as most of the other students were not engineers,” he continued. “In RCEL we focus on engineering leadership and applying leadership skills to engineering problems, but it was refreshing to see how leaders of other disciplines act – both in ways similar and different to what I have learned through RCEL.”
Danalace concluded, “My main takeaway from the conference was how important it is to find your personal leadership style (based on your strengths) and to lead ethically. In his lecture on ethics, Dr. Howard T. Prince (Loyd Hackler Endowed Chair in Ethical Leadership in the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs) said something that I will always remember when thinking ethically: ‘Integrity comes with a price, but the benefits of acting ethically far outweigh the costs.'”