Featured Image: Students at the ENTICE Series Student Leadership Summit on Saturday, March 7, 2026, in the Boling University Center. (Pacer Photo / Rose Evelyn)
On Saturday, March 8th, the University of Tennessee at Martin hosted the ENTICE Leadership Summit as a part of the ENTICE Series. Open to local high school and middle school students, UT Martin invited several leaders from across campus and beyond to help strengthen the leadership skills of students.
The event began with Mary Giles, an assistant professor at UT Martin within the Department of Educational Studies, leading a discussion on understanding yourself as a leader. Giles dived into an exciting exploration of how every moment you are placed in is an opportunity to be a leader. From there, she explained how one of the greatest things true leaders must understand is that failure is essential.
“Even in tragedy there is a story,” Giles stated as she explained how all of us are walking through life uniquely. Giles left students with the message, “Within leadership you have to be bold. You can never become who you are if you don’t pursue it.”
The summit also featured strong student representation with two Student Government Association officers: President Bailey Parker and Secretary General Chayil Watkins. Together, Parker and Watkins covered the topic of “Leaders Are Developed, Not Born” and broke down the model into five different sections: mindset, experience, failure, feedback and reflection. Parker and Watkins reflected on their time in leadership, explaining how they have gotten to where they are today while emphasizing that leadership is all about perspective.
“Leadership does not need a title,” Parker stated as she explained how students all have the opportunity to be leaders no matter what they are a part of or what title they may hold.
After a taco bar lunch provided by the Sodexo dining hall staff, students ended the day listening to keynote speaker Chase Moore. A former special advisor in the Office of the Secretary for the United States Department of Education and a graduate of the University of Southern California, Moore is known for his powerful voice in equity, education policy and youth engagement.
His remarks began by diving into his life story and how he made it to where he is today: not glamorously, but through undeniable grit.
“If there is a door closed, wait for it to open,” Moore stated as he explained how even when opportunities seemed impossible, one of the greatest things he has learned in life is to not let a “not yet” stop you, because anything is possible.
Moore explained that it does not matter if you think you are not meant to be in the spaces you are in. He claimed that people were never made to simply fit in, and the best thing we can do as leaders is to stand out. Leadership does not always have to be defined by your origins; instead, it is about learning how to help amplify others so they can be the best version of themselves. That is how leaders are created.
Moore left students inspired and eager to serve their communities. “It is so important to follow your heart, but it is even more important to follow your dreams,” Moore stated, emphasizing that acting on dreams can change lives.
