This year, the 4^th Annual McDonald Cadet Leadership Conference (MCLC) was held March 31^st – April 3^rd at The United States Military Academy at West Point. The conference was founded four years ago by Robert McDonald, former president and CEO of Procter and Gamble and current United States Secretary of Veteran's Affairs, and his wife Diane. With a theme this year of "From Failure to Inspiration and Change," a select group of undergraduate students from around the world had the chance to hear from an incredible group of senior fellows and guest speakers.  Participants also had the opportunity to develop through facilitated exercises that emphasized the team-building skills, critical thinking, and collaboration required to solve current global issues. Alyssa Phelps '17, Big Red volleyball captain, represented Cornell at this prestigious event.
 
At the conference, students broke into groups focusing on adversity, governing, learning, and vision. Each group consisted of two West Point cadets, two international students, and several students from different backgrounds across the United States. The leader of each group was a "mentor" who had experienced great success as a leader in their individual field. Alyssa's mentor was Anshul Arora. A graduate of Amherst College and Harvard Business School, and previously employed by McKinsey & Company, Anshul Arora is the current founder and CEO of Edvance Group. The Edvance Group is an organization that is working to solve the educational problems currently facing India.
 
In addition to the group work, there were also numerous panels lead by a diverse array of leaders covering the topics mentioned previously: adversity, governing, learning and vision. Some of the highlighted keynote speakers included Mike Maddock, who is a writer for both Bloomberg BusinessWeek and Forbes, and author of books such as Free the Idea Monkey, empowering entrepreneurial curiosity within companies. United States Secretary Robert McDonald was also a speaker. The participants in the conference are currently in the process of writing an Op-Ed for The New York Times.
 
Alyssa shared:
 
"I learned more about leadership and myself than I ever had before. One of the unique things about this event is that it wasn't a conference, it was a leadership experience. We got to sit with the USMA band while one of our fellow participants attempted to conduct. We used our new knowledge to write a paper about an issue we care about. Most of all, we formed relationships and achieved unparalleled personal growth. I learned that failure is an important part of the process, and how you come out of it is what makes you stand out from the rest. You need to constantly push yourself outside of your comfort zone to grow. A leader doesn't need to micromanage, but needs to create a vision and inspire those around them to achieve goals. I feel so incredibly lucky to have been able to go to MCLC this year and I highly encourage everybody to apply next year. I have relationships and mentors all over the world that I will continue to learn from and communicate with, and for that I am truly grateful. Learning to be a leader isn't always easy, but I am confident that some day I will make a great one."
 
A significant part of being an athlete is being a leader. We are fortunate to have the Big Red Leadership Institute (BRLI) program at Cornell, which provides us the opportunity to further develop as leaders on our teams. However, leadership is a skill that can be constantly improved and further honed. Conferences such as the McDonald Cadet Leadership Conference not only demonstrate the importance of leadership, but also show how we can all benefit from continuing to learn from others and growing as leaders both on and off the field.