Editor’s note: An important part of leadership is bringing in others to learn and grow their leadership skills. With that in mind, the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation provides opportunities for college students in its Colorado Leadership Alliance of university leadership programs to attend other programs with more seasoned leaders. One student explains his experience on Access Denver (the next program—ideal for senior-level executives—will run Aug. 3-4, 2017), in his own words.

I woke up half an hour earlier than I usually would, had laid out my best suit the night before, and even made sure I knew exactly how long it would take me to drive to the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce downtown. I couldn’t explain why I did all of these things that certainly weren’t a part of my normal routine, other than that day had a sense of importance.

In all honesty, I didn’t have the slightest idea what to expect from the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation’s Access Denver. I had only heard bits and pieces of what it was, and from what I could gather it was some sort of networking event for which I was a student representative. Based on that vague idea of what I had landed myself in, I didn’t expect the experience to feel too unfamiliar. Pulling on previous networking events I had attended and interactions with business professionals I had, I invented a story in my mind about how the two days would go: There would be a lot of small talk, a little cliché advice and not much of anything impactful. In addition to this, my youthful ingenuity would be met with a few friendly reminders not to “reinvent the wheel” and a couple “how the real world works” speeches.

I was wrong.

I showed up just on time, filled a plate with food and a cup with coffee  and sat down at a table with an open seat. Immediately, the businessmen and women at the table began flooding me with questions. “Who are you?” “Who do you work for?” and most importantly, “How old are you?” I assumed the last question was because I looked a little young to be sitting in that room; I felt a little young to be sitting in that room.

All at once it became crystal clear to me what was fostering that sense of importance I had been feeling. Sitting in that room, I could feel the collective power, motivation, intelligence and experience. Then there was me – feeling eager and a bit anxious to soak it all in. It was almost instantly that I knew Access Denver was going to be a significantly different experience than the one I had made up.

Over the course of two days I was overwhelmed by more than my fair share of creativity, passion and brilliance. Where I expected small talk, I found that the only topics we covered were ones with massive implications. When I was only prepared for cliché advice, I was provided wisdom and expertise that was reassuring and motivating. And while at first I didn’t hold my breath for impact, I was left feeling like my perspective of Colorado and the business community in Denver had been changed forever. I was surrounded by true change makers within the business community in Denver. The company that I was keeping for those two days in August were intelligent people, genuinely eager to understand more about the issues our communities face and how they can leverage their own leadership to make a difference.

When I reflect on the wealth of knowledge that I walked away with from Access Denver, it all falls under two main themes. First, Denver is different than most other places, but what makes it special is this unifying mindset among its leaders to foster and rely on collaboration as a way to take on our greatest issues we face as a community. The other, perhaps even greater lesson I learned was this: leaders – true and genuine leaders – like to see other leaders succeed. Leadership is not about competing for the spotlight or the greatest achievements, but it’s being a member of the collective desire to see good done in a community.

Access Denver was truly a transformative experience, and one that I have reflected on a lot since August. I am continuously honored and inspired by what I learned as a student participant and by the people who taught me.

Senior executives can learn more about Access Denver or apply for the upcoming program, Aug. 3-4.

Vincent Villarreal, Colorado Leadership Alliance student and Access Denver 2016 participant.