CAMPUSPEAK

For years, Elaine Penn has been motivating college students to excel.

Today, she speaks to students and professionals across the country on leadership, diversity, wellness and personal success. Pulling from her experiences as a campus professional, college coach, athlete and musician, Elaine weaves discussion, stories, audience participation and music into her keynotes to inspire all who hear her speak.

• Keynotes

• Congrats, You’re in Charge… Now What the Hell Do You Do?
• Build Up Your Leadership: Tools for Successful Student Leaders
• Finding Common Ground and Embracing Differences: Building an Inclusive Campus Community
• Don’t Run on Empty: Taking Care of Your Physical and Emotional Health in College
• The Journey to Success: In College and In Life (for New Students or Student Leaders)

Congrats, You’re in Charge… Now What the Hell Do You Do?

The elections are over.  The dust has settled.  And now, you realize that this student leadership position is going to be a lot of hard WORK!  Before you even get a grip on things, the challenges begin.  You’re dealing with lots of drama: members squabbling, people feeling left out, tasks piling up, other leaders not following through on their commitments.  You’re excited and overwhelmed at the same time, and you worry that your term will be half-over by the time you figure things out.

In this program, Elaine Penn will give you the leadership pep talk you need.  You can handle this, you can navigate the drama, you can do some things that move your organization forward.  Elaine will give you ideas of how to handle the stress, how to bring your members together for collaborative problem solving, and how to move people enthusiastically toward important goals.  Sometimes, the key to getting a handle on things is simply figuring out the smart place to start.  Elaine will give you some sound, thoughtful ideas that will help get you moving in the right direction. Student leadership is supposed to be fun.  In this motivating workshop, Elaine will help you get past the scary parts. 

This program is perfect for new officer transition workshops, retreats and student leadership training days.

Build Up Your Leadership: Tools for Successful Student Leaders

When students learn how to tap into their own best strengths, they can be powerful motivators to others around them, and in their student organizations.  A comfortable, confident student leader can bring people together around a common purpose and move a group’s goals into action. In this energizing and informative keynote or workshop, Elaine helps student leaders tap into that strength so that they can motivate and empower others to succeed.  She challenges the students to envision the kind of leader they want to be and the legacy they want to leave, and then she explores ways to inspire a shared vision.  She touches on topics including organization, communication and inspiration. This is a perfect choice for emerging or advanced leadership workshops where participants are finding their feet as student leaders.

Finding Common Ground and Embracing Differences: Building an Inclusive Campus Community

When it comes to campus diversity training, sometimes we need a simple place to start.  In this fun, non-threatening, interactive keynote, Elaine challenges students to step up, identify and eliminate stereotypes – of all kinds – in their campus community. Your students will see how stereotypes create walls and limit their experiences and relationships.  They will be challenged to build “intentionally inclusive” communities by treating others with respect, and moving beyond differences like race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, socioeconomic status and ability. Finally, Elaine inspires students to discover their own unique gifts and share them with the world. This is a great choice for programs where you want a blend of messages surrounding diversity, leadership, and community building.  Elaine frequently adapts this program for orientation leader, peer educator and staff training opportunities.  Bring this program in for your staff in the afternoon and for your students in the evening!

Don’t Run on Empty: Taking Care of Your Physical and Emotional Health in College

College can be exhilarating, exciting, and full of amazing experiences. But, it can also be overwhelming and exhausting at times. When the exams bear down, the social obligations pile up, and the money gets tight, many college students become stressed and burned-out. In this upbeat, interactive program, Elaine inspires students to nurture their bodies, minds and spirits.  She provides “easy to digest” information about diet and nutrition, and her audiences learn affordable ways to eat healthy and increase energy.  Students also explore various exercise and stretching techniques, and even participate in simple, but fun “Zoomba” steps. 

Armed with these simple stress-releasing ideas, students are better prepared to deal with the most stressful moments of their academic year. Finally, Elaine addresses the importance of managing stress.  Leading the students through “breathing” and relaxation exercises, Elaine helps students discover how to become centered during even the most chaotic days. This program is a great one for health and wellness weeks, new student orientation, student leadership conferences, peer education and residence life training, and more. Many of the activities can be simply taught to others, so the benefits for your campus are exponential.

The Journey to Success: In College and In Life (for New Students or Student Leaders)

In this fun and empowering program, Elaine reveals the steps to being a successful and happy college student. Combining discussion, stories, activities, music, and humor, Elaine lays out a Six-Step Success Formula for 1st year students, including: setting priorities, making wise choices, having a positive attitude, stepping out of your comfort zone, managing stress, and civic engagement. Elaine also includes her unique spin of American Idol as students explore risk taking and self-empowerment! If you want something exciting and meaningful for your new students, this is the keynote for you! 

Elaine also has a version of this program for existing student leaders. In it, she helps them create a vision and a plan for their success; have more confidence in their abilities; maintain a positive attitude; become powerful communicators; and serve others.  She also helps them see how doing these things can help with building strong and cohesive teams. Students walk away knowing they are stronger as individuals when they come together as a team. Great for student athletes, RA’s, club and organization officers, orientation leaders, and more.

Elaine's Bio

Elaine is a nationally recognized speaker, trainer and performer who has inspired countless people with her dynamic and motivating keynotes. She has also held numerous university positions, including director of special projects, chief fundraiser and executive producer of five award-winning television documentaries, director of campus recreation and assistant volleyball coach.

Elaine received her bachelor’s degree from Greensboro College and her master’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. While at Greensboro, she received numerous athletic honors. In recognition of her achievements in basketball, her jersey was retired. She was inducted into the Greensboro College Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.

Growing up in a musical family, Elaine has been singing professionally for most of her life. She has performed in nightclubs, theaters, college campuses and on radio and TV.

Elaine began speaking to college audiences in 1996. Her highly interactive style and use of music enables her to reach people in profound ways. Those who experience Elaine’s keynotes leave feeling motivated, informed and inspired.