Charlotte Sprecher

Second Year - International Business

Student leader, H2O; Speaker relations chair, TEDx-UC;

PR chair, EWB-UC, VP, Hot Chocolate Club

What organizations am I involved in?

H2O: H2O is a church and campus ministry made up of college students that are passionate about Jesus. We have Sunday morning services and Thursday night life groups. As a student leader, I am on the leadership team for one of those life groups and help plan and facilitate the discussions and activities we have. Another important aspect of our ministry is The Well, a mentorship program.

TEDx-UC: TEDx-UC is one independent chapter of TED, the group that puts on TED talks. Our main events include Salon events, which have only a few speakers and are designed to facilitate discussion, and our Mainstage events, which are annual events showcasing many qualified speakers who give new TED talks. We also have a mentorship program, the Developing Leadership Program, that brings in freshmen and sophomores and teaches them leadership skills while also exposing them to how TED works.

EWB-UC: Engineers Without Borders is an organization that takes on engineering projects around the world to better the communities they work in. UC's chapter works with three communities in rural Tanzania to build water and sanitation infrastructure. Another important goal of EWB-UC is to build up the members and teach them engineering and administrative skills that they can use to benefit our projects and themselves.

Hot Chocolate Club: As I like to say, this is the "newest and hottest" club on campus. We are a group of students who come together to build community over our shared passion for hot chocolate and also to learn about the chocolate industry.

Why did I decide to join the Student Leaders Round Table?

I heard about the Round Table at the beginning of the semester, when my clubs were just starting to kick off the school year and were struggling to recruit freshmen and host meaningful activities virtually. The idea of a group to discuss ideas for overcoming those barriers seemed like just the thing to gain some momentum. I also wanted to learn about other organizations and how they work. As a sophomore, I had had experience with only a limited number of clubs and wanted to see a little into the breadth and inner workings of other organizations on campus.

What did I learn from the Round Table?

The Round Table was exactly what I hoped it would be; I was able to bounce ideas off of other students about how to work in a virtual environment and how to better retain and engage members. I was surprised that I had a lot to contribute to the conversation. I was also surprised to see how established some organizations were while others lacked traditions or best practices. This experience could have taken place outside of a COVID world and still been extremely beneficial. As it was, COVID restrictions became a catalyst for creativity and motivation. One of the biggest takeaways from the sessions was the extreme importance of building individual relationships with members, especially in a time like this. I'm grateful to everyone who came and shared their ideas.