Sunday, October 27, 2013

October 18th Meeting Reflection

I apologize for my constant lateness... I'm working on it!

1. Name of Cohort Meeting: Personal Identity

2. What are 3 things you learned at the meeting?
-The first thing I learned is where my strengths lie based on the StrengthsFinder standard. And when I read the descriptions, it was uncanny how well they seemed to fit me.
-I learned that although we all seem to have lots of leadership talents and qualities in common, there was very little overlap in our strengths. This just goes to show that we may seem to be similar in many respects, but it's our differences that make us stronger as a group.
-Unfortunately, I learned a few days ago that my mentor had to step down from his position. However, I met my new mentor and she is absolutely wonderful. She's an RA on the floor right above me in Founders Hall, and I can't wait to hang out with her more!

3. Think about the strengths you identified in StrengthsQuest. Do you think they fit you well? Did any of the strengths surprise you? Why is it important to know what you are good at and not so good at as a leader?
-My 5 strengths were positivity, developer, empathy, woo, and input. As I read these, I thought these were spot on for how I view myself. I pride myself on my positive attitude, and connecting with others. For me, there's more fun in the PROCESS than in the final product. I love being able to lead by bringing people together. None of them really surprised me, except for a couple of them saying I always have the right words, which is definitely not true. I have a terrible time trying to say what I'm thinking. But knowing your strengths helps you focus on what you're the best at and in what areas you may be the best leader. The same goes for knowing where you lack a certain strength, and learning to let go and allow someone else to take the reigns if you know that you aren't the best fit person for the job.

4. Talk about a time when you felt your personal differences and diversity weren't respected by a leader in a situation. How did that make you feel?
-I loved being a part of Student Council all through high school. It was a terrific organization, but also came with its fair share of faults. Unfortunately, voting in chairs and representatives just turned into a popularity contest, so there were a number of times where the person in charge was not the person best fit for the job. My junior year, the president of our class was... a bit manipulative (Hannah, I'm sorry, but it's true). She always worked her side until she got her way, and that often meant putting others' opinions as afterthoughts. Sometimes my opinion was one that she would just step over. Sometimes she tried to take me along for the ride, and put others on the back back-burner, which definitely was not okay with me. Our main responsibility was planning Prom that year, and it ended up turning out absolutely fantastic, but I think she still feels like it was all thanks to her. It was really thanks to everyone in the group doing what they could towards different aspects of the planning. She had a really hard time trying to loosen her iron grip for us.

5.
The RA posters are up! I wanna be an RA SO FREAKING BAD.
I believe that my 5 strengths would help me tremendously in being the best RA I can be! :)

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Watch Your Toes!

I found this for Alyssa. I know it's technically for wheelchair basketball but still. :)

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Retreat Reflection

Camp Palmer! It was such a blast. Even if we did eat human steak.

1. What are 3 things you learned at the meeting?
-Well if I could sum up everything from the campfire confessionals, that would be one. I learned so much personal stuff about everybody, and it gave me some insight into how everyone is who they are, and it was really really cool. That was one of my favorite parts.
-Another thing I learned is that we work really well together, and trust is already running through our little group. I was in student council for all 4 years of high school, and even at the end of senior year we didn't trust each other as much as us in FLI do.
-Finally, I learned that heights are scary, but taking your time and getting encouragement from others makes a world of difference. Leaving your comfort zone is hard, but it's a lot easier with the help of friends.

2. What was your favorite part about the retreat? Did you learn anything that surprised you? Did you learn anything about yourself of others in the group that will help you for the rest of the semester?
-I learned a lot of things, both about myself and the others in the group. Because of this, my favorite part was probably the campfire confessionals. I thought a lot about myself and learned some new, personal stuff about everyone that was very defining of characters. But also loved watching everyone find their strengths and their own niches with different activities. I think this will help us a lot in the future, knowing that everyone will have their own important part in everything we do.

3. What do you consider to be your biggest strength? What do you consider to be your biggest area of improvement?
-I like to think that my biggest strength is keeping up everyone's spirits. I love to make people happy, so encouraging people and making jokes when tensions may be high or when someone is feeling down are what I feel is my niche. I believe that speaking my opinion is a weakness of mine though, especially if I disagree with something, because I hate feeling like a bother or that I'm holding someone back.

Camp Palmer WHOO!
Sometimes it takes a weekend of separation from the business of daily life to build relationships and find your common goals. Teamwork!

September 27th Cohort Meeting Reflection

I'm about a half a week late on this, sorry guys... College lyfe is pretty cray-cray.

1. Name of Cohort Meeting: Why Does Leadership Matter? Relational and Servant Leadership

2. What are 3 things you learned at the meeting?
-I learned that it's really tough to differentiate the different parts of leadership, because we think of them together as one cohesive unit, but it's really cool to see how all the different elements come together to create something that we are so familiar with.
-I learned that my mentor for this year is going to be Wade Rhoades, and that he's super involved in a wide variety of things, some of which I might look into myself!
-I also learned that processes are everywhere and that they're the most important thing ever in everything. I know that's not really true, but I do know that it is a key element to a lot of things, especially in leadership.

3. Which trait of servant leadership connect most with you? Think of a prominent servant leader in the world or in your community, and discuss which of the traits they exemplify. How do you feel after connecting with your student mentor?
-The trait that I connect to most is empathy. I try really hard to put myself in other's positions, and I try to think of others before myself. I understand that everyone has feelings and problems sometimes, and I make sure to look at those when working together. A prominent servant leader that I know of is Martin Luther King Jr., who immersed himself in the fight for civil rights, rather than just advocating it. Finally, I'm super excited to get to know Wade. He's big into the sports scene, so I might end up getting to see some games I wouldn't go to on my own. Hooray for trying new things!

4. What are you looking forward to most about the retreat? What do you hope to learn?
-What I was most looking forward to was getting to know everybody (cliché, I know), because let's be honest, we were just an awkward group of kids before the retreat. I loved sharing so much about me, and learning so much about everyone else, and I can't wait to come to this next cohort meeting and feeling like we really are friends now.

I thought this was another cool way to look at it.
PROCESSES.