In October, the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation took 160 business and civic leaders to Chicago, learning from their challenges and successes, and focusing on what makes a city truly global.

Among the delegates on the trip were two students from the Leadership Foundation’s Colorado Leadership Alliance. We caught up with Metropolitan State University of Denver student Jackie Maldonado and Regis University student Jason Armijo to hear about what they took away from their time in the Windy City.

Jason Armijo: Having the opportunity to be part of Leadership Exchange has been a chance to learn from so many bright minds. We all saw how architecture and innovation could create a center of cultural integration. We have also been able to see the importance of education in an inner-city environment. Stealing good ideas that work to benefit the community that we live in is such a great concept. Putting like-minded people in a situation where everyone is vulnerable and opened-minded to talk about issues that we have in Denver, and Colorado as a whole, is a breeding ground for innovation that allows the greater community benefit. That is exactly what this trip is about—learning and allowing the sharing of ideas that we will adapt and use.

As a student, and someone who is very interested in where our current world is going, I enjoyed the dialog and the insights, which today’s leaders brought to the table. We all know that change starts with the education of what is wrong. Focusing on education has increased the ability of the next generation to continue to build on the foundation that we have built.

Jackie Maldonado: My take on this experience is the power of collaboration.  The energy of the entire trip was exuberant, making it easy to have meaningful conversations with each delegate and learn tremendously from each of them, as well as the city of Chicago. One important piece that I took away from Chicago is the power of education. Without attending college now, I would not have had the opportunity I had to be a part of this experience. Education is what moves us forward as a city, a state and a country. My parents came to the United States with a goal for their children to receive an education and become someone they only dreamed of becoming. As I continue my educational journey, I’m learning more and more how companies are striving for a more diverse workplace environment. Coming back from Chicago, made me realize that there’s a need for a stronger collaboration effort between companies and schools.

Collaboration is a word I heard many, many times each day. I learned how UI Labs is collaborating with big companies to help them achieve their ideas, sometimes getting them connected with start-ups that they might never have connected with. It comes as no surprise that we can do the same, if not better, in moving our city forward by collaborating.  When companies collaborate and provide resources to neighborhood schools that need more attention and support, we can see a higher graduation rate. Providing more scholarship opportunities for students to attend college, technical schools and universities will provide a qualified, diverse workplace environment so many companies desire.

Jason Armijo and Jackie Maldonado are students in the Colorado Leadership Alliance at Regis University and Metropolitan State University of Denver, respectively.

So much of what we do at the Leadership Foundation is about paying it forward—passing the civic DNA of our region on to the next generation of leaders so that they will continue to learn and innovate, making the Denver metro area an even better place to live and work.

And it’s in that spirit that we’ll have two students in our Colorado Leadership Alliance (CLA)—our league of college leadership programs—traveling with us to Chicago for Leadership Exchange (LEX) in October. LEX is all about learning from others and using that perspective and new knowledge to find answers to the challenges we face at home. We’ll have plenty to learn from our CLA students and they’ll get a great base of knowledge to bring back to their campuses.

Jackie Maldonado’s first lesson in leadership was being her parents’ translator. Today, the first generation Mexican-American is the voice for thousands of students at Metropolitan State University of Denver as its student assembly vice president. This marketing major wants to put MSU Denver on the map for its inclusive, diverse student body and its academics. She’s got a good start already—she led the rebranding of its Student Government Assembly, and she is diving deeper into statistics and computer programming so that she can use big data to better understand the needs of people. She can’t wait for LEX because we’ll be hearing from experts in Chicago who are using that data to provide better city services.

Jason Armijo has witnessed perseverance in action. It started with his father, who is paralyzed on his left side following a motorcycle accident. Though it happened before Jason was born, he’s heard and seen first-hand how his father has relearned skills large and small. “It’s a beautiful gift,” Jason said. “That dedication to not give up on your family—to not give up on your future.” It’s something Jason hasn’t taken for granted and he sees education as an important first step. It’s why he wants to become an educator when he graduates from Regis University and why he can’t wait to experience LEX. And, he hopes he can teach the other delegates a thing or two as well.

Now in its 26th year, LEX is all about learning from others—and we’ll have plenty to learn from these students as well.

The delegates head to Chicago this week. We will be posting updates about what our delegates our learning while they're in the Windy City. Check back here for updates from Chicago.

Dan Lewis is the executive director for the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation.