DevelopU Series 2026

This session will be all about reframing how we as professional staff live our life after work. It will contain components of lecture, key concepts and research, guided discussion, and activities. Staff will be able to reflect on their free time and devise plans to better use their time. They will also learn strategies to reduce time spent on unwanted tasks or priorities that no longer serve them.

Presenter: Lincoln Cutler

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Ready to make your data work for you, even when time is limited? This interactive, solution-focused session empowers professionals with practical tools and efficient strategies to move beyond collecting data and start using it with purpose. Learn how to quickly turn your data into actionable insights that improve programs and services while confidently demonstrating the value and impact of your work - without adding extra workload. *Bring your device/laptop and data to the session*

Presenters: Dr. Ana Maia and Sarah Hart

In a world beyond campus, where students soon roam,
We’ll explore all the places they might call a home.
From apartments well-loved to new spots they may find,
We’ll map out the options that give peace of mind.
With resources ready and tips to prepare,
We’ll guide every student with wisdom and care.
Our department’s here too, helping each step they take,
Showing what to consider in choices they make.
So join us and learn where your journey may flow—
Oh, the places you’ll go off-campus, you know!

Presenter: Jaycee Kusko

This workshop is designed to enhance the way UTampa professionals deliver student support. Led by a current UTampa Academic Success Coach and former Disney VIP Tours Coordinator, this workshop outlines how facilitating meaningful interactions with students builds trust and leaves a lasting impact. Through real-world examples and interactive exercises, this workshop provides actionable steps towards Delivering Everyday Magic in Student Support.

Presenter: Liddy Foley

This interactive session introduces UTampa professionals to the Spartan Ready Rubrics as a practical tool for developing, coaching, and evaluating student interns and student employees. Grounded in the Spartan Ready competency framework, participants will explore how rubrics can create shared expectations, strengthen feedback, and intentionally build career readiness skills across campus roles. Through real-world examples and guided practice, attendees will learn how to integrate rubrics into supervision, goal-setting, and performance conversations. This session emphasizes a student-centered approach that aligns with institutional priorities while equipping professionals with actionable strategies to support student growth, reflection, and articulation of their skills.

Presenters: Dr. Monika Alesnik and Dr. Ana Maia

Building a cohesive staff team can be challenging, especially when trying to gain student buy-in for processes and goals our offices are trying to achieve. What if we reimagined staff development by incorporating play and drawing inspiration from reality TV-style team games? The Area Coordinator team has explored this approach, using friendly competition and interactive activities to boost engagement, strengthen trust, and increase participation. In this session, we’ll share how these strategies were implemented, how they support one-on-one connections, and the impact they’ve had on team development and overall staff success.

Presenters: Kaelyn Matthews, Karly Taylor, Malik Parks, Zaria Clemons

This session reframes Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL) as a critical site for student development, belonging, and institutional alignment. Drawing on Terrell Strayhorn’s Sense of Belonging framework and the Rightfully Present SOB Model, participants will explore how FSL organizations function as student-led microcommunities that cultivate identity, agency, and persistence. Rather than positioning FSL through a deficit lens, this session highlights how advisors and campus professionals can partner with students to navigate complex organizational environments while advancing institutional priorities such as well-being, leadership development, and inclusive campus culture. Attendees will leave with strategies to reframe narratives and better support student autonomy and belonging.

Presenters: Dr. Armando Rijo and Madi Bridges

Unlock the full potential of your Involve page! We will showcase some helpful tools that go beyond creating events. You will walk away from this session with tips on how to collect event and engagement data, construct strategic communications, and co-host events across campus, all from your Involve homepage.

Presenter: Karen Landino

This session highlights navigating the professional workplace as a new professional or as someone who is navigating a new role, institution, etc. When being hired as a new professional, it is easy to feel imposter syndrome. As a self-proclaimed "personality hire," there are various ways we may try to minimize ourselves to best feel as if we fit. This session will explore how to utilize self-awareness to maximize your skills and disposition to best perform at work. Working with the presenter to reflect on individual professional experiences and how to strategically bring your best self to work, while also making a lasting impact and exploring potential professional development opportunities.

Presenter: Karly Taylor

Do you want one-on-one conversations with your student staff to be more meaningful? Inspired by the popular card game “We’re Not Really Strangers”, this session dives into intentionality and creating meaningful relationships with your student staff through authentic connection and vulnerability. Attend this session to learn how to take your conversations past the small-talk question of “How are classes going?”

Presenter: Eli Hanneman-Leyton

Join Vice President for Student Affairs and Strategic Initiatives, Stephanie Russell Krebs, who will highlight student affairs key priorities, recent progress, and performance outcomes, while exploring how student affairs work aligns with broader institutional goals and emerging trends in higher education.

Conferences and professional associations can be game changers for your career—but only if you know how to make the most of them. Join a panel of Student Affairs professionals as they share practical tips for navigating conferences, building meaningful connections, getting involved in committees and leadership roles, and turning professional involvement into career growth. Whether you’re attending your first conference or looking to deepen your engagement in the field, this session will help you maximize every opportunity and leave inspired to take your professional development to the next level.

What can one of the most successful tours in history teach us about leadership in higher education?
We'll explore leadership lessons inspired by Taylor Swift and the Eras Tour—from leading through uncertainty and building strong teams, to fostering community, recognizing contributions, and prioritizing wellbeing. While the scale may differ, the core principles translate directly to our daily work.

Through discussion, reflection, and real-world application, participants will connect these lessons to their own leadership practices. Whether you supervise staff, advise student leaders, or lead programs and initiatives, you’ll leave with practical strategies to build more engaged, supported, and high-performing teams.

Presenters: Brittany Garcia and Robin Roup

Every conversation with a student is an opportunity to support their professional growth. This session explores everyday strategies and narrative-driven frameworks that help students reflect on their experiences, recognize their strengths, and connect these insights to their development as emerging professionals. Attendees will leave with practical tools they can immediately apply in any student-facing role to foster growth, confidence, and self-awareness.

Presenter: Bianca Noto

This professional development session helps higher education professionals transform their LinkedIn profiles into intentional, strategic representations of their professional brand. Participants will explore how personal values, career goals, and expertise translate into a compelling online presence. The presentation covers best practices for optimizing profile sections, leveraging LinkedIn tools for networking, and increasing visibility with recruiters, colleagues, and industry partners. Attendees will also learn practical tips, lesser-known features, and small adjustments that elevate a profile from static résumé to dynamic professional presence that supports career growth and long-term engagement. Designed for higher-ed professionals across functional areas.

Presenters: Dr. Madison Tarleton and Christina Bevilacqua

Artificial intelligence is increasingly shaping how decisions are made across higher education and professional environments. Rather than focusing on tools or implementation, this facilitated roundtable invites UTampa professionals to explore the leadership implications of AI together. Participants will engage in guided dialogue to examine how AI influences authority, responsibility, trust, and ethical decision-making in their work. Grounded in adaptive and ethical leadership perspectives, this session creates space for shared sensemaking across roles and departments. Attendees will leave with deeper insight into their own leadership practice and a stronger capacity to navigate complexity in an AI-influenced environment.

Presenter: Dr. Monika Alesnik

You’ve probably heard of Resilience Reset workshops—but what actually happens inside them? This session takes staff behind the scenes to experience the tools and strategies we use with students facing stress, burnout, and the “messy middle” of challenge and growth. Through an interactive group activity, a guided meditation reset, and practical cognitive exercises, participants will see how we build resilience in real time. We’ll also explore specialized workshops for first-year students and job seekers, giving staff a clear picture of when and how to refer students—and even take home techniques they can use themselves.

Presenter: Tiffany Nelson