Hundreds of current and potential leaders will gather on campus this weekend for an annual seminar.

The group of MSU and Lansing Community College students will attend the 18th annual MSU Student Leadership Conference in the Business College Complex on Saturday.

“This gives students the opportunity to develop their leadership skills,” said Benardo Dargan, a graduate assistant in the office of Leadership Development and Campus Life Orientation. “It also helps pull out a student’s leadership potential that they didn’t know they had.”

The event begins at 9 a.m. with a presentation by keynote speaker Reginald Lawrence.

Lawrence, who is making his first appearance at MSU, is a founding member of Ma’at Production Association Afrikan Centered Theatre in Chicago. He tours several universities each year to utilize his theater expertise for leadership training.

“He is going to do a great job,” said Shelia Higgs Burkhalter, assistant director of Student Life, the department that organizes the conference.

“He can speak to (students) in a creative way that will keep them interested.”

Aside from his opening speech, Lawrence will also run two of the 28 available “breakout sessions.” These sessions are hosted by numerous speakers, including author Frances Kendall and David Eich, CEO of Ingham County Regional Medical Center. The sessions last throughout the day.

“The sessions are centered toward specific needs of students within a certain focus of leadership,” Dargan said.

At the conclusion of the conference, those in attendance will gather for networking, where everyone will reflect on what knowledge they gained from the day’s activities.