FRCC hosted the CCCS Student Leadership Conference at its Westminster Campus on November 14th and 15th. The conference saw student government representatives, including faculty, from all 13 colleges within the Colorado Community College System convene there. About 10 representatives from each attended.
Carrie Gentles of the Community College of Aurora makes a presentation relating to Hurricane Melissa. 
Connor Medberry, WC SGA president, meets with other CCCS Student Leadership Conference attendees. 
The presenter check-in desk is seen. 
A sticky bulletin board is seen, with each campus making its own contribution on how to “lead in full color”. 
A phone records the Hurricane Melissa presentation made by Carrie Gentiles. 
A reflection sheet to be filled out after the Hurricane Melissa presentation is pictured. 
A welcome sign is viewed outside the Rotunda. 
Welcome and location signs are seen just inside Entrance 2. 
A large welcome tarp is seen attached outside Entrance 2.
This is the first time FRCC has hosted this event since 2018. Tim Mellon, Director of Student Life at the WC, remarked of having the conference hosted at the college, “It was nice to have a turn again, bringing CCCS students to Front Range.”
“It is one of the few times a year where students from across all of our campuses get together and connect,” he continued. “I think this really is a showcase of the ‘Power of 13’.”
According to Zegilberto Mireles, a Voting Representative on FRCC’s Westminster SGA, the conference was intended to “make better leaders” out of the students attending as well as “connecting people” from the community colleges with each other.
Kasey Cross of Pikes Peak State College shared this goal. Cross stated that they wanted to “network with other community leaders just so I can speak to them and gain more insight, and also hopefully bring that back to my own campus as well, because everybody’s voices and opinions are valuable.”
Student Saige Chapin of Red Rocks Community College – who is also chair of the State Student Advisory Council among holding other roles – echoed the latter goal.
“My mission is to continue building bridges,” she said. “I want to connect with more student governments and make it easier [to communicate].”
“I just really want to take the relationships that I’m building here and use them to continue building platforms for people if they’re willing to advocate and get them in the position to do so,” Chapin continued.
The tower of paper presentation is made. Pictured is Hannah Brown (left). 
Students pose and others pay attention at the CCCS Student Leadership Conference. 
Amy Hopkins of the Community College of Denver poses. 
Students pay attention to Amy Hopkins’s presentation. 
Amy Hopkins of the Community College of Denver presents at the CCCS Student Leadership Conference. 
Saige Chapin speaks at the CCCS Student Leadership Conference. 
A student pays attention at the CCCS Student Leadership Conference. 
Jackson Tate presents at the CCCS Student Leadership Conference. 
A man presents in front of a projector overlay. 
Students pose at a presentation. 
A woman looks up at the projector overlay during her presentation.
Others had different reasons for attending the conference. Gavin Fitzgerald – a STEM coach at Morgan Community College and advisor for MCC’s SGA – said that, “I love stealing the ideas that these guys have because they’re smarter than me. … I’m watching their leadership training and I’m like, ‘Oh, I can do that back home!’”
In an effort to craft these leaders, the conference offered several breakout rooms with presentations differing in content such as how to build community (such as in the wake of Hurricane Melissa and its impact on Jamaica), body language, building a paper tower, and ethics were provided. These took up the majority of the conference.
The direction map tells CCCS Student Leadership Conference attendees where to go. 
A schedule of the CCCS Student Leadership Conference. 
The Student Life Annex’s schedule at the CCCS Student Leadership Conference. 
Mountainside’s schedule at the CCCS Student Leadership Conference. 
Timberline’s schedule at the CCCS Student Leadership Conference. 
Snowy Peaks’ schedule at the CCCS Student Leadership Conference. 
The Rocky Mountain Room’s schedule at the CCCS Student Leadership Conference. 
A campus map detailing the rooms used for the CCCS Student Leadership Conference.
Most students were split up into separate groups, then sent to a nearby room for the presentations. Presentations focusing on collaborating to build a tower of cards, de-escalating conflicts, becoming an activist, building a career in Student Affairs, and “finding stability in the wellness wheel” were featured, among many others.
Other activities included game time on the night of the 14th and meals – held in the Rotunda – were provided. Einstein Bros Bagels provided catering for Friday’s breakfast, while Slam’n Sandos provided that day’s lunch. The Colorado Catering Company provided the rest of the meals: dinner on November 14th, and breakfast and lunch on the 15th.
The students in attendance responded positively to the conference. Natasha Polombo of Pikes Peak State College said that “I feel empowered to be here, just learning new things and having fun.”
Faculty who attended also reported enjoying the conference. Brant Davis, a faculty advisor for Northeastern Junior College’s SGA, remarked that “I’m very happy about it.” He continued, saying that “I just am excited to hang out with my peers. I look forward to this every year, getting to talk to them.”
“I think this is a great opportunity for [my students] to learn leadership skills and expand on their horizons and learn new perspectives,” he continued. Davis additionally helped plan the leadership conference.
Staff, faculty, and students shared their visions of leadership.
Gavin Fitzgerald – a STEM coach at Morgan Community College – said, “Being dependable and being a role model is like the biggest thing, right? So not exactly like the ‘Big Brother’ option, but just always being there for when people need it the most.”
“Being president of my school’s Black Student Union, I think a big thing about leadership is representing your community accurately. and in a well-manner[ed way],” said Cross.
“It’s being your team’s advocate,” Chapin said.
Many of these student government representatives had also their own experiences in forming their leadership skills within their communities upon which the conference could improve on.
As a current supervisor in her campus’s food pantry, Natasha Polombo said she “[makes] sure everything’s in order.”
Mireles, who lived in Brazil for 15 years and then on-and-off afterwards, relayed his time helping to establish an English-teaching school there.
“The way that they would lead that school taught me a lot on how I want people to treat me or people to do things,” he explained. “And then after that, I’ve had so many leaders that I’ve interacted with that all taught me a little something.”
Chapin stated that they were “able to reconnect SSAC with the Colorado Department of Higher Education. SSAC had previously run legislation and stuff like that pre-COVID, but since COVID, it had trouble getting back up on the ground.”
“It feels like something is trying to make us young people kinda be more isolated from each other,” Mireles said in explaining why he joined the conference. “Bringing back this connection, this community, this strength in communion is an important step [in moving away from that] right now in the times that we’re living.”
Finn Zupan and Baruch Cohen make tie-dye shirts. 
CCCS Student Leadership Conference attendees make tie-dye shirts. 
An attendee plays pool. 
An attendee reacts after a shot at pool. 
An attendee focuses on making his shot at pool. 
An over-the-shoulder view of an attendee attempting to pocket a ball. 
An attendee makes their shot at pool. 
An attendee hits the cue ball. 
Baruch Cohen and another attendee play ping-pong. 
Students play archery tag at the CCCS Student Leadership Conference. 
Students play archery tag at the CCCS Student Leadership Conference.
Photos by Dehnal Tena. Additional images by Alex Ziemek.
CORRECTION, DECEMBER 4, 2025 11:28 AM: Additional photos of the conference were added, with captions. The paper tower presentation was erroneously referred to as a “tower of cards”. Other captions were updated with additional information.
