KENNESAW, Ga. | Nov 2, 2026

KSU student leaders gathered at Camp Rock Eagle for a weekend of leadership development, team-building activities and collaboration during the annual Leaders in Kennesaw (LinK) Retreat.

More than 60 Kennesaw State student leaders gathered Oct. 23-25 at the Rock Eagle 4-H Center in Eatonton, Georgia, for the annual Leaders in Kennesaw (LinK) Retreat, a weekend dedicated to leadership development, collaboration, and community building.

Co-hosted by multiple Division of Student Affairs departments, LinK provides comprehensive, inclusive leadership development training that encourages students to explore their personal leadership styles, strengthen team dynamics, and build connections with fellow student leaders.

This year’s retreat brought together 65 students, 22 small-group facilitators, and five main facilitators for a weekend of interactive activities and discussions designed to help participants become more intentional and effective leaders.

The weekend began with a Clifton Strengths session, where students explored their top five strengths and learned how individual talents can contribute to a team. They also took part in a “Strengths” auction, bidding on strengths they believed would give their teams an advantage in a later team-building challenge.

On Saturday, students explored their personal leadership stories through activities that encouraged them to reflect on the people, communities, and experiences that have shaped them. By identifying their core values and connecting those to their strengths, participants worked to develop personal leadership statements that reflected who they are and what they believe as leaders.

Students then put their strengths into practice during a LEGO challenge. Building on the previous day’s auction, each team received a strategic advantage based on the strength it had secured, challenging students to recognize how different talents and perspectives contribute to a shared goal.

For sophomore Xavier Ashton, a member of the Marietta Activities Council, the activity reinforced the importance of recognizing and appreciating the different strengths people bring to a team.

“One of my biggest takeaways from LinK was the LEGO challenge. Learning to work with some people I just met and incorporate all their strengths/areas of improvement was a huge challenge, but it taught me how to work with people who excel in different areas,” Ashton said.

The retreat concluded with a new collaboration experience called the Big Idea Exchange. Students worked in small groups to identify common challenges facing their on-campus organizations and brainstorm innovative solutions that could benefit multiple groups. Each team developed a short pitch for its proposed solution, which students then presented individually during a networking-style activity around the campfire. Students had the opportunity to share their ideas with their fellow student leaders while enjoying s’mores and voting on the proposed solutions.

Through experiences like LinK, the Division of Student Affairs continues to invest in developing thoughtful, collaborative student leaders who are prepared to make a difference in their organizations, on campus, and beyond. For more information on developing your personal leadership skills, contact the Department of Student Leadership to learn more.

-Story by Ashlynn Gates

-Photos from various participants