Parkland College students join 2026 Leading Illinois Together conference

Along with Parkland Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society Advisor Lori Garrett and Director of Student Life Brennon Hightower, these students represented Parkland’s PTK, Student Government Association (SGA), Prospectus News and Student Leadership Academy. They joined over 200 other community college students and advisors from 23 institutions across Illinois during the two-day conference.

With a keynote address from author James Ribilotta, students participated in networking opportunities, round table discussions and various educational forums designed for those on the Illinois Community College Student Activities Association (ICCSAA) and PTK track.

Hightower presented "Campus to Career: Preparing Students to Thrive at Work (Part 2)," a follow-up from last year’s session, "Campus to Career: Turning Engagement into Experience." She also presented "Leadership with Receipts: Prove What You Learned," a session which bridges Part 1 and 2.

"This is the second year that Lori and I have been able to collaborate and bring groups of students to the LIT conference representing both PTK and campus activities," Hightower said. "LIT provides our students with a unique opportunity to not only connect with peers from Parkland, but other community colleges across Illinois as well. By engaging in the provided leadership development opportunities, students, especially first-time conference participants, can strengthen their leadership skills and make new connections, making this an invaluable experience."

Other sessions included "Putting the COMMUNITY in Community College," "What is a Student Trustee?" and "AI for What’s Next," among others. Following each session, Parkland students actively engaged in rich discussions and debriefs. SGA members returned to Parkland and designed a follow-up forum based on their conference experience.

"The LIT Conference is one of three that our chapter of PTK attends each year," Garrett said. "Our October event previously was our Leadership Conference, but last year we tried something new by partnering with ICCSAA to do a joint meeting, and it was wildly successful. I have the pleasure of serving on PTK's Illinois Advisory Board, and it was a unanimous decision to continue this joint venture. By combining resources from both organizations, we can provide more speakers, richer programming, and a variety of fun fellowship opportunities throughout the event. This conference really fires up our student leaders and reinvigorates the advisors who attend."

The conference concluded with reflection, action planning, a group photo and the passing of the torch to the 2027 conference. The LIT conference is a collaboration between the ICCSAA and PTK.