The South African Association of Senior Student Affairs Professionals (SAASSAP) hosted a three-day conference on "Ramping up engaged scholarship, gender equity, and enhancing leadership in student affairs practice" at Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), from 2 to 4 December 2021. The meeting, which was attended by student affairs leaders from South African higher education institutions, was a first of its kind, hybrid-level interaction for SAASSAP and affiliated stakeholders since the global outbreak of the coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19, in 2020. The conference's programme, which sought to address current challenges and social injustices affecting students in South Africa, provided student affairs professionals with an opportunity to consider and guide the processes of change required to enrich student growth and development nationally and further afield. The SAASSAP conference hosted scholars sharing innovative papers and keynote speakers who addressed the audience on patterns of best practice. The meeting also enabled participants to engage in thought-provoking conversations as part of a student-centric learning experience.