How do you host what is traditionally a four-day, on-site conference at West Point during a global pandemic? Through a virtual Microsoft Teams event, of course.
The McDonald Conference for Leaders of Character (MCLC) Reconnect 2021 event took place March 26 and was conceptualized by the program’s Officer-in-Charge, Maj. Jordan Terry, and live-streamed from the Thayer Award Room.
The Logitech avatar system was utilized for this event, enabling hosts to see participants on an 80-inch TV screen during the event, as well as streamline the audio and visual pickup.
Participants were moved seamlessly throughout the day’s virtual environment between the main meeting room and individual break-out rooms, providing a highly engaging and interactive experience for everyone.
Over 45 Student Fellows, consisting of civilian, military, international and former cadets from the 2018 and 2019 MCLC cohorts and hailing from over 10 different countries across the globe, reconvened for small-group discussions, guided reflections and panel engagements focused on character-driven leadership. Secretary of Veteran Affairs, Denis McDonough, served as this year’s keynote speaker.
Terry served as the event moderator, and the Head of the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership, Col. Everett Spain, welcomed the returning Senior Fellows, Student Fellows, McDonough, and Bob and Diane McDonald for the opening and closing comments.
After opening remarks and introductions, participants moved into eight break-out rooms, which served as a space to reflect on past MCLC experiences, growth as leaders since MCLC 2018 or 2019, and where development journeys might take participants in the future.
Students were matched with Senior Fellows from the same MCLC attendance year and each room contained five-to-seven participants.
McDonough has previously served as a MCLC Senior Fellow in 2017, 2018 and 2019. His remarks focused on creating a vision for followers, offering the right guidance, then unleashing outstanding teammates to solve challenging problems.
Upon the completion of McDonough’s address, a 60-minute dynamic panel titled “Building Resilient Teams,” explored how leaders can build resilient and adaptive teams in changing and challenging environments.
Terry fielded questions from the chat window in a fast-paced format to designated Senior Fellows who were instructed to take about a minute to answer each question. Most panelists stuck to about two minutes of response per question and the quality of discussion was high.
Closing comments were provided by Patrick Swygert, Esquire, President Emeritus of Howard University and SUNY-Albany, the only person ever to be president of both a Research 1 university and an Historically Black College or University. Bob and Diane McDonald offered final remarks on what turned out to be an exciting and engaging event with the hope of future events returning to a pre-pandemic setting at West Point.
MCLC began in 2012 with the mission to bring together a diverse group of the top undergraduate student leaders from across the globe with world-class senior leaders who act as mentors in a team-based, experiential event that bolsters leadership skills, fosters critical thinking and collaboration, and develops potential strategies for addressing pressing global issues.
The annual conference is made possible by the vision and resources of founding benefactors Bob and Diane McDonald.
The conference has been hosted each year by BS&L and the West Point Leadership Center (WPLC). Since its inception, the event has touched the lives of over 600 students and senior leaders through its exploration of relevant and timely themes.
If you are interested in learning more about the MCLC or the additional programs in the WPLC, visit our website at westpoint.edu/leadership-center.