By: Eliana Morales
Students from Southern Adventist and Oakwood universities gathered in Chattanooga last week for the Diversity Educational Exchange Program (DEEP) Leadership Summit, a three-day experience focused on global leadership, collaboration and service. The event was held at Crosswalk Chattanooga Church from Feb. 11 to Feb. 13.
According to Southern’s website, this year’s summit aimed to “cultivate faith-informed, globally minded leaders through purposeful dialogue, collaboration and experiential learning.” It was described as an immersive experience where participants could “strengthen their ability to lead ethically, communicate effectively across diverse perspectives and apply creative solutions that advance mission-driven education and community impact.”
Oakwood’s coordinator for the summit, Shalunda Sherrod, said that a candid discussion among student leaders helps each campus face its unique challenges.
“[The biggest challenge] is just cultural competence or cultural humility,” Sherrod continued, “being able to understand and be empathetic to other cultures because we’re very used to our own culture.”
Former Southern President Gordon Bietz and former Oakwood President Delbert Baker reflected at this year’s summit about the original idea for the DEEP program. The concept emerged during a 1997 trip to Cambodia with Southern Union leaders, when an unexpected military coup disrupted their visit. After finally being allowed to leave their hotel room, they witnessed bodies on the street. Baker said he wondered how to turn a traumatic event into something good.
Baker remembered telling Bietz, “Listen, you’re in a predominantly white institution. I’m in a predominantly Black institution. Can we do something substantive?”
Baker said they both wanted to do something meaningful beyond swapping basketball games and music concerts. He said the goal was to address racial and cultural divisions by bringing students together while they are still forming their perspectives.
DEEP was implemented as a semester-long exchange program, in which students from Southern would attend Oakwood and vice versa. However, due to limited participation, they shifted to weekend-long events and summits to expose more students to the program.
This year’s summit began on Feb. 11 at 5:30 p.m. with a welcome from the presidents of both universities, followed by a prayer over the meal. After dinner, Crosswalk’s pastor, David Ferguson, led the group through several icebreaker exercises.
Attendees then moved to the auditorium for worship led by praise team members from Merge Worship, a student-led service on Southern’s campus. The evening’s main event was the “Legacy Panel,” featuring Bietz, Baker, current Oakwood President Gina Brown and current Southern President Ken Shaw.
Bietz encouraged the current presidents to use DEEP to engage students in conversations about current global issues. Shaw agreed, noting that the program has expanded beyond bridging predominantly Black and White communities to its current mission of bringing together students from many cultural backgrounds.
“We’re different in a way,” Shaw said, “but what Dr. Bietz says is that we’re all the same, and when we have Jesus in our hearts, we should be different from the people that don’t have Jesus in their hearts.”
The panelists explained how the Southern Union became a sponsor of the program and continues to support DEEP events, such as this year’s summit.
The evening closed with a time of prayer for the nation, the church and personal needs. Participants formed groups according to the topic they wanted to pray over.
Thursday’s activities focused on leadership development, diversity and belonging. After morning worship, participants separated for workshop sessions. Some of the workshops included “Wellbeing and Thriving”; “Let’s Talk: Reimagining DEEP;”and “Lessons Learned: Our Stories, Our Experiences.”
The next activity was the “World Café” experience, a series of small-group conversations. Participants were divided by the last digit of their phone number, creating mixed groups from both universities. Topics included what it means to be a global leader, tips for next year’s summit and whether DEEP should expand into a year-long experience.
The keynote sessions began after lunch. Bietz’s keynote emphasized servant leadership, reminding students that the goal of leadership is to serve rather than control. He outlined characteristics of effective leaders, including listening well, sharing information openly and building trust through relationships.
In a second keynote, Baker presented “Built to Lead,” sharing seven dimensions of leadership. He described three leadership types: a strong natural leader, a strong spiritual leader and a strong Adventist leader. Baker also highlighted four essential intelligences for leaders: physical, spiritual, emotional and experiential.
The keynote session concluded with a charge from Bietz: “Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. And that develops through relationships.”
After a two-hour break, the summit resumed with a wellness activity and dinner, where participants painted and released paper butterflies. A short worship followed before dismissal.
On Friday, the group met on Southern’s campus at 8:30 a.m. for worship before doing a service-learning activity. The summit ended around 1 p.m. with closing reflections.
Student reactions
Sharna Ebanks, a Southern senior mass communication major, said the environment was welcoming and everyone was friendly. One of her favorite parts of the event was the ice breakers.
“I liked it because I got to interact with others in a way that wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable, like ice breakers usually are,” she said.
Oakwood student and junior theology major Ryan Williams was also impressed by the hospitality, describing it as “phenomenal” from the moment he arrived at the hotel and throughout the summit. He said he enjoyed the Legacy Panel discussion on Wednesday.
“I feel like that was a really great touch of just understanding the roots of where DEEP was founded and where it’s going in the future,” he said.
Williams’ favorite part, though, was talking to others in the breakout groups.
Ismeily Vasquez, a senior business major at Oakwood, said she got to know many new people and will tell friends who are not yet graduating about the summit so they can attend next year.
“I had the opportunity to share my experience and story at one of the workshops I chose, and it was very involving,” she said. “This is a great opportunity just for fellowship and networking.”
Anil Asok is a graduate student from Southern, pursuing a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling. He thought the summit was well-organized and appreciated the coordinators’ behind-the-scenes effort. His favorite part of the event was the keynote sessions from Bietz and Baker.
“They have decades of experience, and it was nice to know how they have moved forward and what they think is important in leadership,” he said.
Jazmin Mota, a senior psychology major from Southern, said she enjoyed the opportunity to connect with people she might not otherwise meet.
“It wasn’t surface-level type stuff,” she said. “You actually got to know people, their backgrounds, their stories. I really appreciate that aspect of the summit.”
Charge for students
Baker told students that one of the best things they can do after the summit is to scout and identify areas of need.
“You can be a real agent for balanced relationships and change,” he said. “So, we would challenge you to take the spirit of DEEP… as you go forward, and make a difference on campus.”
