Breakout Session 5

The Impact of Dementia on Workers and the Workplace

Presented by Elaine Eshbaugh / Schindler Education Center 301
This session will explore two increasingly common, and often complex, workplace realities. First, we will examine how to respond when a colleague may be experiencing cognitive changes. These situations can be sensitive and difficult to navigate, raising questions about compassion, performance, privacy, and institutional responsibility. Participants will discuss practical approaches, appropriate boundaries, and the role colleagues and supervisors can play when concerns arise.

Second, the session will address the growing prevalence of employees serving as caregivers for parents, partners, or other family members - often without visible acknowledgment or structured support. We will consider what it truly means to be a “family-friendly” workplace and how institutions can broaden that definition to reflect caregiving across the lifespan. The conversation will focus on awareness, cultural expectations, and actionable strategies for fostering a more responsive and supportive work environment.

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Building High-Performing Teams Through Quality Relationships

Presented by Takumi Sampei / Schindler Education Center 303
This session explores the Seven Healthy Habits and Seven Deadly Habits of Relationships through the framework of Choice Theory and Lead Management, highlighting how everyday leadership behaviors influence trust, motivation, and effectiveness. Participants will examine how deadly habits, such as blaming, criticizing, and punishing, can damage relationships with students, staff, and colleagues, while healthy habits foster connection, accountability, and collaboration.

This interactive workshop emphasizes leading through influence rather than power, aligning with intrinsic approach management and performance coaching. Attendees will gain practical tools to navigate staff supervising, support growth, and create psychologically safe learning and working environments. By the end of the session, participants will be equipped to intentionally choose healthy habits that strengthen relationships and build high-performing teams across campus.

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Trendspotting 101: What’s Up with Today’s College Students

Presented by Sarah Goblirsch & Jenny Connolly / Schindler Education Center 304
Dive into the fast‑shifting landscape of today’s incoming college students and uncover the trends reshaping academic advising and career services. This session brings the data, the stories, and the real‑time insights that professionals are seeing on the front lines as a new generation arrives with bold expectations and evolving needs.

Together, we’ll explore high‑impact strategies that ignite student motivation, strengthen engagement, and empower learners from every background to take charge of their academic and career journeys. Expect an energizing mix of discussion, practical tools, and fresh perspectives designed to help you connect with students in ways that are authentic, inclusive, and transformative. By the end, participants will walk away inspired, equipped, and ready to champion student success with renewed purpose and creativity.

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What Matters Most: 
Creating Environments that Build Employee Engagement through Flow

Presented by Gary & Deanne Gute / Schindler Education Center 306
Gallup’s 2024 Employee Engagement Survey (released January 28, 2026), revealed that only 31% of U.S. employees report being actively engaged at work. The negative consequences are profound. This session will be an opportunity for stimulating and productive conversation about the framework and experience of flow at work. The facilitator will guide participants in considering the culture and habits that support flow for deep engagement, productivity, creativity, and well-being at work, the importance of feedback as challenges evolve, and applying the 9 flow dimensions to specific challenges and opportunities.

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"I'm fine. It's fine. Everything is fine." 
And other things we tell ourselves when life is chaos.

Presented by Heather Asmus / Schindler Education Center 308
There are a ton of self-help books about balancing life and work, but many times I am more encouraged when I hear what's actually working for my friends and colleagues. This is a session for all of us to share challenges of being a working parent, grandparent, pet parent, caregiver, new or seasoned professional and how we are manage (or don't manage) it all. Come ready to share and to learn from one another.

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The Story Advantage: Telling the Stories of Our Work

Presented by Danielle McGeough / Schindler Education Center 309
In higher education, much of our most meaningful work never makes it into reports or accreditation documents. It lives in moments: a student who almost gave up but didn’t, a colleague who felt seen for the first time, a program that quietly changed a life. These moments are where learning, belonging, and transformation actually happen. But, we’re rarely taught how to notice them, shape them, or share them in ways that move people.

This interactive session introduces participants to the STORY Framework, a practical, ethical, and accessible approach to crafting short, powerful stories that reveal the heart of our work. Participants will learn how to identify moments of transformation in their everyday roles, trace the change that occurred, and translate those moments into stories that strengthen communication, collaboration, and purpose across campus.

Whether you work in advising, teaching, enrollment, student affairs, administration, or academic support, this session will help you better articulate why your work matters to yourself, to colleagues, and to the communities you serve. Together, we will explore how storytelling can deepen connection, support change, and help higher education professionals communicate impact in ways that data alone cannot.

Participants will leave with a story in progress, a framework they can use again and again, and a renewed sense of meaning in the work they do.

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