December 6th Meeting Reflection

1. Name of Cohort Meeting: Reflection and Spring 2014 Goal Setting

2. What are 3 things you learned?
-I learned that we actually have some financial help to get our project done!!
-I learned that there are a bunch of students and alumni that would be great to bring to the hospital to help entertain the kids.
-I learned that FLI may not end for us this year! We may come back either for a second session, as a mentor, or even as a FLI coordinator!

3. What are you looking forward to about the next semester? How do you feel about the service project? Do you have any concerns? Name one major goal that you identified at the meeting and how you plan to execute it.
-I'm definitely looking forward to some change next semester. As much as I loved my classes this semester, I'm definitely ready to move on. I'm also really excited for RA interview stuff! I wanna be an RA super crazy bad! As for the service project, I'm feeling really good about it. It sounds like we have a pretty solid plan, and hopefully nothing major falls through. My only concern is being able to hold up my part of the project. I'm always afraid of dropping the ball and ruining everything. So my major goal is to complete my portion to the best of my ability to help set the location of the event, which we need before anything else.

4. What are your plans for winter break?
-I'm hoping to get together with some of my high school friends that I haven't seen since the summer. I'm also going to call Christi Rotterdam from the Children's Hospital about setting up the location and event. Other than those, then I'm going to get some well needed R&R.

5. 

My wonderful RA that made my first semester fantastic!

 My critical thinking group that made the class a ton of fun!

This is what I did in my free time. It's the small things to be proud of. ;)

Leadership Academy Reflection

1. What are 3 things you learned at Leadership Academy?
-I learned that authentic leadership requires credibility, credibility requires authenticity of values, and authenticity of values requires self-reflection.
-I learned that congruence is a harmony between our inner and outer world, meaning our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are guided by honesty, authenticity, and genuineness.
-I learned that an important part of ethical decision making is acting rather than reacting to situations.

2.  What was your favorite part of the Leadership Academy? Did anything surprise you? What do you feel is the most important/valuable thing that you will take away from the experience?
-My favorite part of leadership academy was probably the game where one side of the room meant "agree" and the other side of the room meant "disagree", and we had to move around the room depending on our reactions. This also ended up being a very surprising activity, because when we discussed it afterward, it was almost impossible to be truly one side or the other. But the most important thing that I picked up during the overall experience was that true leaderships starts inside ourselves. There was so little focus on leading others throughout all of Leadership Academy because we spent the entire time figuring out ourselves as leaders.

3. Sum up each session in a few words:
-Values: Principles that define who we are and determine how we act and lead.
-Ethics: Putting values into action for the sake of justice.
-Commitment: The passion to move people.

4. What role do you think ethics plays in leadership? How will this influence your service project?
-Ethics are a key element to leadership. They are determined by our values, but change depending on the time and circumstance, just like leadership. We lead through our values, meaning we lead through ethics.
Ethics will be important during our service project because we determined the values that were important to us earlier in the year and what group of people we wanted to help. Ethics are putting values into action, so ethics will be the driving force of our service project.

-

Updated Look!

I'm really excited. I just now figured out how to change the layout of my blog, so now it looks a little less plain! I'll play around with it and maybe find an even better one! :)

Maybe this will make it a little more exciting to read ;)

November 15th Meeting Reflection

This was a lot of fun. Granted we got literally NOTHING done for our part of town, Maggie and I really got an interesting perspective to work from.

1. Name of Cohort Meeting: Ethics/Archie Bunker's Neighborhood

2. Identify Competency:
-An ability or skill to help complete a task

3. What are 3 things you learned?
-Whether the activity was overdramatized or not, it seems like anyone that isn't caucasian is treated as though they're a second class citizen. I know that some people even live like this in real life and it's almost ridiculous to think about.
-Stereotypes are created unfairly, and are almost perpetuated because society essentially forces people to fit the stereotypes that "suit" them. Not only this, but many people use what's called "confirmation bias" to perpetuate these stereotypes and rationalize the fact that they hold them by only looking at situations that reinforce their prejudices and ignoring any of those that don't.
-What some may consider and easy task may be an extreme struggle for another group of people. Maggie and I had so few materials and found building anything very difficult, whereas Bailey had lots of resources and had no trouble building.

4. What was the most shocking thing about the activity?
-The most shocking thing was easily the fact that we didn't get anything done simply because our "race" brought out all kinds of empty fears and stereotypes. Every time we almost got a permit passed, something would happen where we were treated unjustly and then we would have to start the whole process over again, sometimes even losing money that we couldn't get back because everyone seemed to be against us.

5. What have been your thoughts about the activity since leaving the meeting?
-I've always tried to put myself in others' situations, but this really helped put things in better perspective. In fact, there is a lot people I would like to have do this activity, because they look at the world so cynically and one dimensionally. They need to be aware that people will be different than them, and that it's not right to judge them for it.

November 1st Meeting Reflection

1. Name of cohort meeting: Diversity in Leadership

2. What are 3 things you learned at the meeting?
-People are not one dimensional. We are created with a mix of characteristics and we define ourselves through the what are values are what we relate ourselves to.
-Just because somebody leads in a different way than you does not mean that they are leading the wrong way. They may be driven by different values that influence the way they lead. Men may lead in a different way than women. However, it's important not to alienate those that you are working with that may not share the same values.
-Being a truly good leader means you must have "intercultural competence", as nobody will ever be the same as you. Being able to work with those that are different than you, as well as being supportive of their values, are key aspects of leadership. Simply because you don't understand someone else's values doesn't mean that they are less important.

3. Why is it important for leaders to be sensitive to cultural and social identities? Can you make a connection between what you learned at the meeting and a current event? Do you think that what you learned at the meeting will help you confront these issues when they emerge?
-Today's world is far more globalized than what it was in the past, and it will only continue this way in the future. Therefore, our workplaces, schools, and neighborhoods will become more diverse. It's important to embrace this diversity rather than shun it, as having many different outlooks on a situation helps more than it hinders. Plus, we have to be sensitive to the values of others that differ from our own values. Being a leader means thinking of others above yourself. This concept is easier in some situations than others, but there are still many struggles that present themselves everywhere. Some colleges are criticized for not providing enough diversity, and shows like Saturday Night Live have been similarly criticized for having primarily white cast members. Although these situations are often out of the average person's control, I know that I can be respectful of others that are different from me. I want to stay very involved on campus and be an RA, and I'm sure situations will arise where I will have to confront such a problem.

4. Do you think leadership can be value neutral? Do you think that leadership is better when it is ethical? Why?
-I don't thank that value neutral leadership is possible. If you don't have values, what are you working towards? Values drive how we approach situations and determines what we situations we act upon. I think leadership is better when we lead ethically, but I don't think that leading by ethics simply makes it better than leading by values.

5. 

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! :)

Watch Your Toes!

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