LeaderShape 2015
What I appreciate most about the Honors Program is the opportunity to question my beliefs, thoughts, and values, and see how I can apply those to the world around me and in my interaction with others, and now that I have been through LeaderShape, I can definitely say that there has been no better environment to constantly question, learn, and grow. Both of my roommates had attended in years past and spoke so highly of the experience, but when I’d pester them about details or what made the experience so amazing, I usually got vague answers, if any. I went into the week with an open mind, knowing a few familiar faces but determined to get to make new friends as well.
Right from the start, I realized I was being thrown into something completely uncomfortable: I was expected to talk about my feelings, dreams, and passions with people I barely knew, and every moment was dedicated to the process of learning more about ourselves and how we fit into the world around us. Before I knew it, the week had flown by and in retrospect, every moment of discomfort or ignorance or confusion was paired with a moment of honesty and awareness and learning, and I am so thankful to the sixty people who helped me with my own growth throughout the week.
I realized that I had never put pen to paper and outlined what my values were. I acknowledged the importance of my habits that I had fallen into that were detracting from my personal growth. I figured out that we all have different lenses on that formed our viewpoint of the world, and sometimes you have to meet people where they are if you ever want to truly appreciate who they are. I wrote down my vision and shared it with my peers and got to experience their visions and see the passion light up their eyes as they described a better world around us.
I’ve learned that one value that is central to everything I do and who I aspire to be is congruence, which basically means talk the talk, walk the walk. I’ve realized that I can say what I believe in and what I advocate for, but if the action I take every day in the classroom, at work, and in my personal life don’t reflect the meaning of my words or my value, am I really standing for anything at all? That being said, I’ve been redefining my view of leadership to be more congruent with my beliefs. Leadership isn’t about holding a title or telling others what to do; it means uplifting the visions of those around you and hearing everyone’s perspective before taking action. Everyone is a leader and a follower in some form, and it is important that we rely on each other’s strengths to build each other up. My vision was centralized around the idea of empowering kids and giving them the resources they need to succeed, and so much overlap existed between my vision and those of others, and it was powerful to see that each of us were harnessing our talents and values to make the world a better place.
I feel immensely thankful to have shared this experience with so many incredible people; my small group especially helped me come out of my shell and push myself to share my ideas and know that they were respected in our space. Kendall, Michelle, Emily, Jake, Alex, Yang, Adam, Veronica, Danny and our facilitator Lauren were the best group I could have possibly asked for and it was a privilege to have gotten to know each of them. The best part is we’ve been holding one another to our grains and really supporting our efforts in Day 7, and I can’t wait to see the amazing things that they and the other participants accomplish to move towards positive change.
Right from the start, I realized I was being thrown into something completely uncomfortable: I was expected to talk about my feelings, dreams, and passions with people I barely knew, and every moment was dedicated to the process of learning more about ourselves and how we fit into the world around us. Before I knew it, the week had flown by and in retrospect, every moment of discomfort or ignorance or confusion was paired with a moment of honesty and awareness and learning, and I am so thankful to the sixty people who helped me with my own growth throughout the week.
I realized that I had never put pen to paper and outlined what my values were. I acknowledged the importance of my habits that I had fallen into that were detracting from my personal growth. I figured out that we all have different lenses on that formed our viewpoint of the world, and sometimes you have to meet people where they are if you ever want to truly appreciate who they are. I wrote down my vision and shared it with my peers and got to experience their visions and see the passion light up their eyes as they described a better world around us.
I’ve learned that one value that is central to everything I do and who I aspire to be is congruence, which basically means talk the talk, walk the walk. I’ve realized that I can say what I believe in and what I advocate for, but if the action I take every day in the classroom, at work, and in my personal life don’t reflect the meaning of my words or my value, am I really standing for anything at all? That being said, I’ve been redefining my view of leadership to be more congruent with my beliefs. Leadership isn’t about holding a title or telling others what to do; it means uplifting the visions of those around you and hearing everyone’s perspective before taking action. Everyone is a leader and a follower in some form, and it is important that we rely on each other’s strengths to build each other up. My vision was centralized around the idea of empowering kids and giving them the resources they need to succeed, and so much overlap existed between my vision and those of others, and it was powerful to see that each of us were harnessing our talents and values to make the world a better place.
I feel immensely thankful to have shared this experience with so many incredible people; my small group especially helped me come out of my shell and push myself to share my ideas and know that they were respected in our space. Kendall, Michelle, Emily, Jake, Alex, Yang, Adam, Veronica, Danny and our facilitator Lauren were the best group I could have possibly asked for and it was a privilege to have gotten to know each of them. The best part is we’ve been holding one another to our grains and really supporting our efforts in Day 7, and I can’t wait to see the amazing things that they and the other participants accomplish to move towards positive change.