Letter to Younger-self

Dear Younger-self,

                Now that my time at Michigan State is coming to an end, there are a few things I should suggest. College is one of the most crucial times in your adult life. What you do now and the decisions you make have a tremendous impact on your future. The first thing I suggest is stay focused. I know there are a lot of distractions around you, but just remember what you are at college for…education.  Also, don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone, for you never know what you may discover about yourself or others. You also need to remember that all your hard work and dedication will pay off. I suggest you have a vision for yourself, really look into your beliefs and values and try to understand what motivates you. Be the best that you can be, and never stop trying.

              Love,

                   Emma

"Toward a New Vision" and "Get to Know Yourself as a Leader"

Reflection: “Toward a New Vision” and “Get to Know Yourself as a Leader”

After reading both the “Toward a New Vision” and “Get to Know Yourself as a Leader,” made me take a better look at what leadership is for me.

I found both of the articles interesting, but I feel that the “Toward a New Vision” was a bit narrow-minded. I think that although race, class, and gender are surface issues that may never seem to diminish, we need to look deeper to find someone’s true identity. Collins states, “Differences in power constrain our ability to connect with one another even when we think we are engaged in dialogue across differences.” Power and privilege has always been something that causes barriers between people. However, I think that to be an effective leader one needs to step outside their comfort zone and experience the life of others. Taking the time to understand these differences is an important quality in an effective leader. This is a great way to grasp a better understanding of how someone else less-privileged might live. By doing so, one will be able to connect to that person and find a meaning to their purpose as a leader. Something else that I didn’t necessarily agree with is when Collins stated, “One powerful catalyst fostering group solidarity is the presence of a common enemy.” I think to initially label someone as their enemy is not a good way to break down barriers. I feel that as a leader one needs to have an open-mind and be open to differences, but without labeling as an “enemy.”

I thought the article “Get to Know Yourself as a Leader,” was interesting and helpful when it comes to leadership. I like the opening sentence of this article, “Your leadership abilities flow from who you are as a person: your values, talents, styles, and self-image” (p. 71) I think it is extremely important as a leader to have self-awareness. Without knowing yourself and your values it is hard to draw a path of alignment and to understand your motives. I think by fully understanding yourself, it not only helps you grow as a leader but helps others follow.  

Work-Cited:

Author Unknown. Get to know yourself as a leader. Chapter 5.

Collins, P.H., (1989). Toward a new vision: Race, class, gender as categories of analysis and connection. The research clearinghouse and curriculum integration project. 457-462.

A Heated Argument.

A couple weeks ago we talked about the glass ceiling effect on women in today's society. I think that women today are making a major impact on the way we look at this controversial topic. It was definitely controversial on Wednesday when we had an open discussion. The girls in the class we defensive to say the least, and the boys were there to back up their reasonings. That next Monday we had a debate style setup in class. I have to say that this was one of the more unamusing classes this semester. Everyone seemed to be a little less involved and not interested in the debate itself. I agree with what Hayley, when she said that emotion has everything to do with the discussion. When we were forced to come up with actual facts rather than our opinions, the conversation was a lot less intense.

Lunch with a Purpose

This past week I was assigned to do my show and tell. I thought it was appropriate to bring up Lunch with a Purpose since we were discussing leadership in the community. T.J. Duckett is someone that graduated from State and ended up in the NFL. After recently retiring from the NFL, T.J. is dedicating a lot of time giving back to the community. One of his projects is lunch with a purpose. My roommates and I went one of the weeks, and I have to say that it was an awesome experience. I think that by just simply giving up an hour out of your week to help out those in need is something everyone should consider. I think that T.J. exemplified servant leader characteristics. I think that he is a good model to other members of the community. He has paved a path for himself, and continues to pave ways for more opportunities. He has aligned goals and his oppurtunites and has put them to good use. His organizations have empowered many to become more involved in their own community.

Sing-a-Long

The singing activity was something that can be related to my previous post. I think that by being involved in smaller groups and really getting to know your classmates is important in the learning experience. Having more activites like this during class will help up get involved and participate more as a group. By just sitting and listening to lectures, over and over again about leadership really doesnt help me become a better leader. I think that by putting what we learn into use and focus more on group activities that it will be a better learning experience.

And they all fall down.

After being divided into groups of 3-4 we were given a stack of dixie cups. Next, the groups had to pick a leader for the activity. Little did we know that the 'leader' wasn't able to see. After setting a goal of how many rows you think your team can conquer, then the building begins. My team set a goal of 3, but ended up getting up to 6 rows. I think that this activity helped become more acquianted with other class members. I think that by applying what we learn through the lectures into more activities will help with the whole leadership process.

Oh the places we will go...

Instead of having a regular class period, we ventured out and explored campus. The scavanger hunt that day was surprisingly a learning experience in one way or another. I learned by reading the back of sparty statue we were originally called the "MichiganStaters." Thank God that name didn't stick, the "Spartans" is definitely a more suitable name. By looking for specific clues, I came across areas of campus that I didn't even know was there. I think that it is important to know your surroundings and way around campus. Although we didn't win, I still enjoyed not sitting in a classroom all day.