Sessions

A skill that is critical to success in leadership roles, but one that is not given much (if any) attention, is around developing your voice and communicating that voice in a persuasive, compelling way. Regardless of your goals and current professional position(s), in this session you will be given tools and strategies to help you foster your persuasive skills. Session attendees will be introduced to Cialdini’s six persuasive strategies and will be given an opportunity to identify a critical departmental/unit/programmatic need to advance using persuasive strategies learned.

We will walk through the steps that CIT follows for new projects. The process can be applied to any type of project, not just technology-related ones.

2024 marked the 15th year of the Hope College Green Team! We will provide an update on campus sustainability initiatives since the group began and also provide details for on-going programs like recycling, conservation practices, Green Revolving Fund, Alumni Affinity Group, and how you can help us continue to make progress towards campus sustainability and Creation Care.

Come and learn how to ensure that all people can participate and engage with your content.

Adaptive Management emphasizes the importance of adapting leadership style to the needs and to employee readiness, leaders can effectively support and develop their team, ultimately leading to greater success for the organization as a whole.

This is one of a four-part series for the Manager Track. It can be taken by any employee, but will be most relevant to managers.

Presenters: Sonja Trent-Brown and Margo Walters
The focus of this session is to explore strategies for applying cultural intelligence (CQ) in real-world scenarios. Participants will undertake a Cultural Challenge Project and begin to develop their own CQ Action Plan. Completing self-paced online pre-work prior to the session is strongly recommended to get the maximum benefit from this session.

This is one of a four-part series on CQ. It can be taken as a standalone session, but employees who attend all four sessions will earn a certificate for the Developing Cultural Intelligence®: Working Effectively Across Cultures™ Workshop. The self-paced online pre-work is required in order to earn the certificate.

Kick the jargon to the curb! Explore the essential partnership faculty and staff play in creating a successful culture of philanthropy, and ask any question you have about fundraising at Hope College.

Members of the philanthropy and engagement team will present how to best communicate with alumni and donors through multiple channels. The ultimate goal is to engage with alumni, families and friends of the college in meaningful, clear, concise and effective ways. We can help you do that!

How can you tell if that email is legitimate? Am I really supposed to remember all of these passwords? Why are there so many “updates” to everything? Let’s learn together.

Presenters: Sonja Trent-Brown and Margo Walters
By the end of the session, participants will understand 10 cultural value dimensions, identify behaviors typically associated with each cultural value preference and develop awareness of the cultural value preferences of self and others. Completing self-paced online pre-work prior to the session is strongly recommended to get the maximum benefit from this session.

This is one of a four-part series on CQ. It can be taken as a standalone session, but employees who attend all four sessions will earn a certificate for the Developing Cultural Intelligence®: Working Effectively Across Cultures™ Workshop. The self-paced online pre-work is required in order to earn the certificate.

Presenters: Sonja Trent-Brown and Margo Walters
In this session, participants will become familiar with cultural intelligence (CQ), recognize the relevance of cultural intelligence, be able to define “culture,” and consider cultural effectiveness in their own contexts. Participants interested in completing self-paced online pre-work prior to the session are invited to do so.

This is one of a four-part series on CQ. It can be taken as a standalone session, but employees who attend all four sessions will earn a certificate for the Developing Cultural Intelligence®: Working Effectively Across Cultures™ Workshop. The self-paced online pre-work is required in order to earn the certificate.

Dietary approaches to stop hypertension, or the DASH Diet, is a heart-healthy way to eat for everyone. It is effective for managing blood pressure, weight loss, lowering cholesterol and managing or preventing diabetes, and is safe for the whole family while promoting overall heart health through a balanced dietary approach.

Success in the workplace can be influenced by an employee’s ability to communicate timely and appropriately. During this session, employees will learn to leverage their communication opportunities.

The ability to recognize, accept and manage our feelings plays an integral role in our emotional development. How we manage our feelings may affect our happiness and our health. This session focuses on several aspects needed to maintain emotional wellness and teaches employees necessary relaxation techniques that will help them get through the day.

Join us for a high-energy creative workshop! Explore what creativity is and, more importantly, what it isn’t. We’ll learn ways to train and improve our own creative ideation, while exploring the steps to generate not only more but better ideas for our creative selves.

Often we are hesitant to give feedback because we don’t want to hurt relationships or feelings. But isn’t it also harmful and unkind to let someone keep doing something wrong and potentially damaging relationships with others and embarrassing themselves? Radical Candor is a framework that guides how and when you choose to give feedback in a way that honors people and relationships.

This is one of a four-part series for the Manager Track. It can be taken by any employee, but will be most relevant to managers.

Learn how to be efficient and organized using tools from Gmail, Calendar, Drive and more!

We strive to make the right food choices hoping to eat healthier for us and our families. A healthy eating plan is flexible to your needs, lifestyle and food preferences. But does healthy eating fit into our budget? In this presentation we will discuss some healthy food options that won’t break the bank and how to meal plan.

Are you new to using Canva and want to spice up your presentation slides? Join this session to learn tips about key Canva features: organizing course content, appealing slides, collaborating with others, using the brand kit and more.

A fun, story-based session on the liberal arts and why they matter. The informative session will help all employees understand the benefits of a liberal arts education like the one Hope offers our students.

Have you inherited or accumulated files that you may not need anymore? Are you thinking about how to tell the story of your work at Hope? In this session, archivist Sarah Lundy will offer guidance on the types of materials the college needs to keep, highlight resources for organizing and accessing needed records, and provide tips for day-to-day recordkeeping and storytelling everyone can do.

This session will review the eligibility, requirements, penalties and comparisons of Marketplace (a.k.a., HealthCare.gov) for people under 65, as well as Medicare plan options. We’ll answer questions like:

Do I have to enroll in Medicare?
Should I keep working for insurance?
Should I enroll in Medicare if I am still working?

We will keep it light and even throw in some humor to keep you awake. And we’ll bring stress balls for you, just in case!

This session is designed for any age, as the earlier you begin to plan the better prepared you will be! Learn about how social security works, health insurance, and five things that can derail your retirement. Receive working spreadsheets, budgets and other tools to help you prepare for that day. TransAmerica recently called this session “the best we have seen.”

Scientific studies show that a lack of sleep causes many significant changes in the body and increases your risk for serious health concerns. When you’re tired, you can’t function at your best. Sleep helps focus and emotional well-being. It services all aspects of our body in one way or another: molecular, energy balance, intellectual function, alertness and mood. Come and learn all there is to know about sleep and how to improve it!

Christian college professionals often find themselves caught in the demands of academics, their spiritual lives and personal obligations, leaving little time to nurture their well-being. This workshop is designed to address the particular challenges of maintaining a vibrant life amidst a busy schedule. Participants will explore strategies for cultivating balance, delight and relight through a gospel-centered approach to self-care and soul care; participants will be equipped to address the signs of burnout and fatigue, develop rhythms of rest and renewal, embrace delight as a spiritual discipline that fosters gratitude and perspective, and create boundaries that protect time for spiritual formation and personal development.

This is one of a four-part series for the Manager Track. It can be taken by any employee, but will be most relevant to managers.

In this session we will describe the strategic planning process and identify important ways that you can participate and apply this process to your own work. Opportunities to provide feedback and ideas will be included — as well as plenty of time to ask questions.

Learn a variety of technology tips, from useful keyboard shortcuts and extensions to how to get the most out of your operating system to make your technology use go more smoothly and be less frustrating! Do not corner yourself into being “not a technology person” — anyone can become tech-savvy by learning just a handful of habits and tips/tricks.

As managers and leaders, there are various leadership styles we can use. We need to decide who we want to be and how that translates to our employees. We will cover the leadership topics and practical issues to think about in these roles as well as discuss how we can use our new tool, Cloverleaf, to help us lead our teams.

This is one of a four-part series for the Manager Track. It can be taken by any employee, but will be most relevant to managers.

Join Elexis and Molly to learn more about the unique characteristics of Gen Z. We’ll spill the tea on their values, challenges and motivations, and will explore how the world in which they grew up has shaped their expectations, communication styles and approach to education. Plus, we will lowkey help you level up your understanding of common Gen-Z slang. We hope that you will gain actionable insights to better connect with and support current Hope students. No cap, it’s gonna be a whole mood, so come lock in with us.

Presenters: Sonja Trent-Brown and Margo Walters
In this session, participants will develop an understanding of the full cultural intelligence (CQ) model and engage and reflect on their personalized CQ Profile Feedback Report. Completing self-paced online pre-work prior to the session is required.

This is one of a four-part series on CQ. It can be taken as a standalone session, but employees who attend all four sessions will earn a certificate for the Developing Cultural Intelligence®: Working Effectively Across Cultures™ Workshop. The self-paced online pre-work is required in order to earn the certificate.

2025 Session Topics with Descriptions