A little bit of Sunny D

I hate orange juice. There's just something about the texture I cannot stand. And the color, the color is creepy, it's like the glass of orange juice can't decide if it wants to be orange or yellow so it picks both.

That being said, whenever I'm sick, thinking I'm getting sick, or for a week after I'm sick, I overload on orange juice. All of this happens because my mother once said that if I drank some orange juice I would feel better (yep I still listen to my mommy). Even though it probably doesn't help, I still do it. And complain about it. I talk about how much I hate orange juice, I add Sprite to it (mommy said sprite was good too when you were sick), or plug my nose as I down orange juice by the glass.

Looks like it's a late night glass of orange juice for me. 

How Things Stand

We are in the midst of changes. The world is getting flatter every day. No matter what we do, we cannot stop it, nor should we. We have the unique opportunity to set the stage for future generations. We have the opportunity to leave this world in a better place than when we found it.

A few days ago numerous cuts were proposed at the University of Northern Iowa. There have been many rash opinions shared, the gossip mill increased immensely, and personal attacks were made. I have my opinions, but I have sought out information. I have actively participated in civil discussions with my classmates and sought out the opinion of other members of the UNI community.

In this time, I have faced many differing opinions, some of which I have agreed with, others I have not. However, I made that judgment. My time at UNI has been spent educating myself and learning to critically analyze everything I hear. I have heard students complain that their professors are forcing opinions on their students. This is the opportune moment for students to get their voices. We are at UNI to get an education, to form opinions, to question the status quo. The status quo needs to be questioned. We have become complacent in where we are and accept being a good school. We have the potential to be great, we just need to reach it.

As students we need to be reminded that "with great power, comes great responsibility." We have the power to influence our peers, UNI and the surrounding community. We need to take this power and use it to help UNI live up to it's potential. It's not time to start fighting or calling out others, it's time to come together and embrace the next step towards our future.UNI is a place for educating future citizens and preparing them for the world, what better example of the "real world" can we give students than this.

A Few Final Reflections

This portfolio, paper, blog post, or any other name given to it, provided an insight I have never had before. It forced me to come up with concrete assumptions on myself. It provided insight to the way I behave, not only in leadership settings, but in every aspect of my life. I noticed that throughout this entire experience how much of my style was based on those around me and their behavior. I realized how lucky I was to have such fantastic and positively influential people in my life.

I noticed that I’m an extravert, no matter how many times I tell myself I’m not. This helps explain why in numerous situations I have emerged as a leader. I have always known that I like having goals, I like having an end state to work towards and that was reaffirmed with this.

Most importantly, I reaffirmed that I have a passion for what I’m doing in my life right now. From serving on the board of directors to dealing with drama in NISG, I value these experiences. I look at everything around me and see a learning opportunity. I value change and opportunity, respect, self-respect and my education. I have come to see how my values are shaping what I do in my everyday life and preparing me for the future. All of these values, these passions, the experience I have had, and my willingness to never stop learning make me a leader. But what makes me a good leader is not the last twenty four pages of ink on paper, it’s the knowledge that I have in myself; the knowledge I have that tells me that a happy ending is out there and that it is achievable.  

(insert that song lyric)

I used to loathe those individuals that posted song lyrics about their feelings. Today, I want to be one of them. Finally completing Part 1 of my Leadership Portfolio has made me realize that song lyrics say it right. They eloquently put into words what I'm feeling, and they do it concisely. I cannot capture the feeling as well as a song lyric can, and I don't think it would be a good use of time to try.

Alas, my paper is complete, except for the last minute proofreading I will be doing in five hours. If you are up, in Cedar Falls, hanging out in the computer lab at 6am, we should chat. We can talk about anything: politics, shoes, chess, but let's have a conversation, there's not enough of those taking place in society right now. 

A Lesson in Values

Aside from soccer when I was extremely young, I was never involved in sports. Not by choice, but rather by the lack of coordination. Instead, I was involved in my church community. My dad was involved heavily with our parish festival and other activities outside of Mass. It was through him taking on leadership in this was that I had my first example of a leader. Later on I realized how much of a leader my mother was at work through a company that was looking at closing, and with her being the accountant (it was a small company) she had tremendous input on the consolidation. My parents instilled in me a sense of helping those less fortunate than I was. I was never a spoiled kid, I did chores to earn everything I received and was punished when I misbehaved. It was through a strict, yet fair and loving up-bringing that my values were instilled in me.

In reflection on joining the “real world” in the next few months, I realized that they values are more important now than they ever were. I value curiosity, and it can be seen in everything that I have done. From traveling to Spain and Costa Rica with my Spanish Club in high school to leaving my parents for the first time to go to college, fear of the unknown is something that forces me to strive to do my best. Whether it is leaving for a week for the first time without my parents and traveling to Washington D.C. or taking an internship in Ohio, my parents instilled in me a curiosity that I will take with me wherever I go.

I was also raised to share my time and talents. Being more fortunate than many others in my community, my parents volunteered and are still involved in a variety of organizations. This carried over to my college career. In the midst of extreme budget cuts being announced, with an extensive paper due in the morning, I am instead having those tough discussions with my peers. I have a calm demeanor, that in times like the ones we are facing, need to be present in the conversation. I have learned, and value my ability to remain level-headed throughout a variety of circumstances.

My childhood and the way I was raised would be a huge part of my story. I was raised to be curious, ask questions, help others; I was raised to never grow up. My story would be a Taylor Swift song: reflecting on my past experiences and learning from them, valuing your friends and family, but most importantly recognizing the need for change. My story would be filled with images from my past, put together to show a strong, independent women who through hard work and dedication, is achieving her dreams.

The major themes of these stories would center around my work within residence life at UNI. Through using the strong values my parents instilled in me to better my community. Through discussion with others and learning from them. My story would focus on travel, on experiencing the unknown, on becoming a person I want to be. This would be my story and my story alone. It is story resulting from my work, with many influences. My story would be filled with criticism, from not only others, but myself. It would be filled with triumph and successes that outshine the negatives and failures.  My story is setting me up for the places I am going and setting me up to be a better leader. It is a story that encompasses self-awareness mixed with training on how to be an effective leader, on how to help others find a path.

My story is shifting focus as I type. I am becoming a better leader. I am realizing how I value serving others. How I feel most energized and most successful when I am doing things for others. Most importantly I am realizing that being a leader, requires listening, dedication, and the willingness to make the hard decisions, it requires an ethical background and an understanding of the world. My values, my passions, the experiences that I have had, push me into leadership roles. 

Locus of Control

I had the opportunity to take a Locus of Control assessment two years ago as part of an internship I was doing with the Leadership Studied Department at the University of Northern Iowa. When I took it then I had a four, a generally low score, indicating an internal locus of control. Taking this assessment again in my senior year, I received a 1. I think this score adequately reflects myself and the situations I have been through.

I have pushed myself to achieve what I thought was never possible. I have received two promotions, successfully restructured a campus organization, joined a regional board of directors for the largest student run organization in the world and taught myself how to use a website using Dreamweaver. I was fortunate enough to receive a pin honoring my hard-work and dedication, and people said you're the lucky one. I told them I wasn't; I was the dedicated one, that one that says that if a little effort goes a long way.

I don't gamble and I have never played the lottery (well pull tabs, but it was about the fun noise they make when you pull the tab), I don't believe in luck, or if people do "get lucky" it's their way of saying they got a handout they didn't deserve. I think that when people put in hard-work, they get returns. For society today that return is money and only money, but I disagree with that. After pushing oneself to accomplish a task or working hard at work, there's that sense of satisfaction; that sense of satisfaction carries over beyond the task that one is doing and affects that person's entire life. I think this shift in attitude because of one's accomplishments make up most of the "luck" that people are talking about.

I feel that my low score on the Locus of Control assessment also relates back to John Mayer's Waiting on the World to Change. I feel that the ones that sit around and are "waiting" would be the ones that would score higher on this assessment. They are the ones that are "unlucky" enough to be living in a time where they have no control over their outcomes. I however believe the words on a magnet given to me by my advisor right after being sworn in as President of the Residence Hall Association at UNI "I am fairly certain that given a cape and tiara, I could save the world." This isn't because I need to be a superhero, but because I have an internal locus of control and belief that people are responsible for their surroundings.

Self-Awareness

 For the Self-Awareness Assessment, I scored in the top quartile each time I took the assessment. Self-Awareness is something that I have been continually striving to work on. In an assessment I took my freshman year of college, my need for self-awareness was a commonality amongst all of the results. I am not surprised by my search for self-awareness, most of it coming from the professionals I have surrounded myself with.


Luckily, over the course of the last 3 years, I have had the opportunity to work with extremely successful individuals within the world of student affairs. These individuals not only mentored me, but challenged me to find myself and reflect on every decision I was making. This is something that has stuck with me; I question others a lot, but I question myself more. I am constantly thinking about decisions I have made and considering how they have and will impact my life. I have found this to be burden sometimes, and it adds a level of stress to my life, but trying to find myself and be aware of my reasoning and realizing my values has made me a better person. I have found that it is through this that I am able to push myself in areas that I know will make me happy, it focuses my attention to what I am passionate about and it a motivator for future endeavors. 

What Kind of Leader am I?

I scored a 19 on the Leadership Readiness Scale. I think this is extremely reflective of my enjoyment being put into leadership roles. I see this willingness for the leadership role to come not from practice but from the confidence in my abilities and in those around me. I have learned that I am not concerned with personal gain or personal achievement, but rather from group achievement or other’s successes. I believe this is what makes a person ready and willing for the leadership role.

My Leadership Style Preference Score was extremely close between task emphasis and relationship emphasis. I think this is one of those occasions where “depending on the situation” is the answer. I have been put in a variety of leadership roles, some that force me to focus more on personal relationship and some that require my attention to be on the task at hand. This has taught me that I do need to adapt my leadership style and since I have had exposure to the different styles, I am comfortable with both of them to a certain degree.           

I am not shocked by my score in the Leadership Style Adaptability. I received a four, which indicates that I adapt to circumstances as I see the need. After working and being involved in organizations where situations change rapidly, I have learned to adapt to these circumstances and have even welcomed them. I have learned to not only adapt my leadership style to the situation, but to the people I am around as well. I have noticed, especially at work, the variety of people and their viewpoints. This is most noticeable with my direct reports, because I have worked with them so much. I have come to recognize situations where they excel and some where they struggle. I think that recognizing this is beneficial for not only them, but for me. I am able to push them and help them, but I learn how to be more adaptable as well. 

Student Leadership Practices Inventory

In the Student LPI (Leadership Practices Inventory for those of you not fortunate enough to be taking these assessments) gave me some insight, but I feel like it is biased. It said that I was extremely high in Challenge the Process, way higher than I would have guessed.

I have always been a person that has challenged the status quo, but never to the amount that I've done in the past few months. In my Capstone class, The Idea of a University, we are continually thinking critically and analyzing the current trend in higher education. This has inspired me to challenge the status quo in other aspects of my life as well, especially in my job. I feel that I have stopped growing and am accepting the stage that I am at, and my instinct to challenge the process has begun to take over and I'm looking for more innovative ways to accomplish my responsibilities. I feel that my score is based off the current situations at institutions of higher education, changes that I was in the process of making for the Northern Iowa Student Government election process, and because of the SWOT (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat) Analysis I had been analyzing regarding the future of a corporation I am involved with. These three instances all showed me that change needs to happen, and change needs to happen soon.

Reflecting on my ability and willingness to challenge the process has shown me that change can happen. Whether it is this assessment or John Mayer's song Waiting on the World to Change that just came on the radio, I have seen how simple challenges to the status quo can make monumental differences. In the song, John Mayer discusses how people cannot challenge the current situation they are in; they just need to wait their turn. My distaste for this sentiment, a distaste that began growing in high school, had a major impact on my score for the Student LPI.

Also high scoring was inspiring a shared vision and encouraging the heart. I always try to create a sense of community within any group I am involved with. I have seen that having a long-term vision or goal in mind motivates the group and helps build that sense of community. I try to focus on this sense of community and use that to celebrate victories that happen in the group. I believe that showing off the skills used to make the group successful will help inspire the shared vision.

I think that model the way is last is because I don't always share my personal values with those around me (unless it's the belief that coffee is the beverage of the gods). I know what things are important to me and I try to surround myself with individuals who portray those values, but it is never something that is discussed.

Overall, I felt that my scores were well-rounded except for challenge the process which can almost be considered an outlier. This assessment showed areas for improvement I was unaware of before and will help when approaching new teams that are as unfamiliar with me as I them. I need to work on not bringing my scores closer together to be a better-rounded individual. At the same time I need to cherish and celebrate the strengths I do have and continue to find ways to use them to my advantage.

My Personal Vision

While attending the Upper Midwest Region-Association of College and University Housing Officers, I had the opportunity to attend a variety of workshops and presentations. The one that stuck out the most in my mind was a workshop on work-life balance. The work-life balance discussion came after a good chunk of time was spent on defining one’s own values and an action plan based on them. I started out with a list of over 60 values, narrowed it 30, then 15, then 10, then 5 and finally the top 3. My top 3 were respect, variety, and friendship. After figuring out how important these values were to me, it became easier to share my personal vision with others.

Since I do have this understanding of my personal goals, I feel that it will also help me be seen as a more credible and ethical leader. I know what I am not willing to sacrifice on and what I stand for; when faced with situations I will behave according to these values. This ethical behavior, especially in the modern business world will be extremely helpful. Also being able to clearly define these values will make me a better leader.

This personal vision has not only come into play throughout issues in the work setting, but also in deciding who my friends are, which graduate schools I want to look at, and all other activities that I partake in. I never realized how much of my life is defined by few words. Since finding out this information, and reassessing it on occasion, I feel that I have grown as a person. My personal vision provides a great check to make sure that I am doing what I feel I should be doing and behaving in a way consistent with the goals I have in life.

What Style of Leader Are You

As I have mentioned, a few years ago, I took an in-depth assessment regarding what style of management and direction would be needed for me to succeed. Through this, a variety of jobs, and answering this question numerous times throughout interviews, I have come to know my leadership style before taking the assessment.

With score of 17 (somewhat lower than I was expecting actually), I am a participative leader. I knew this before this assessment because of past situations. I have had laissez-faire leaders and have never had a positive experience with them. With an autocratic leader, I have found that they only excelled in times of uncertainty or chaos and rarely succeed long-term. Because I have had exposure to these leadership styles, I knew that they were not the styles I wanted to focus on. I have been in teams where leaders participated and took on a visible role in supporting the team, and these teams had higher chances of success. I think being involved with a team is an imperative part of the leader’s role and something that I will continue to do in most circumstances.

Steward and Servant Leadership

This is the first assessment where I'm going to disagree with my answers. I received a four in both the Steward and Servant Leadership Category. From personal experience and because I refuse to accept that I am both, I'm going to say that my score for Steward Leadership is lower than my servant leadership, or at least it should be.

Throughout all of the leadership opportunities I have had, I prefer to serve the needs for others; to help them grow and focus my attention on them rather than myself. Even with the current Northern Iowa Student Government (NISG) Process that is going on, I focus on making sure the candidates are still going to class, staying on top of their sleeping and that the general student population is aware that there is an election going on (I guess in the past, people didn't know about it...). Throughout this whole process, the only recognition I am asking for is for dinner for team, a resolution from Senate and that everyone involved in NISG signs thank you cards that I have for them. They are the ones that have done the work, they put in the time and effort and I was the one that provided the means for them to do so.

This is not an isolated example of the type of leadership role that I take on. I prefer to serve the group, to give the group a means to accomplish what they wish to. I dislike recognition, especially in a leadership role you volunteered for and is considered to be part of a job. I think of it as doing the job, doing what needs to be done rather than being a leader.

Even though I have numerous examples of Servant Leadership, I also have examples of Stewardship. I like consulting with others and having their inputs on decisions, I don't like making big decisions based only on my way of thinking. In this sense, I am thankful for the diverse ideas that I have encountered at the University of Northern Iowa. I think bringing in a diverse population, with different backgrounds and different opinions, is the way to be a steward leader. By providing a way for these individuals to discuss issues and collaborate. I especially try to do this in the work place. Often times when people are doing as task they don't realize how that fits into the bigger picture. By bringing in these ideas and gaining their insight and input, it helps foster a fantastic sense of community, but better ways of doing things come about.  

Readiness for the Leadership Role

My score on the Readiness for the Leadership Role was 86 and fell into the upper crust of the moderate readiness for the leadership role constraints. I feel that this is pretty indicative of my leadership readiness ability. I think I am generally comfortable and willing to step-up and take on leadership roles, but I know that there is more learning that needs to be done before I am always ready for this responsibility. As Peter Parker was told “with great power, comes great responsibility.” This is something that I take to heart when taking on leadership roles, and this assessment addressed this. As a leader one is not only in charge of making things happen but they are responsible for the outcomes of their team. I see this as my weakness. I have taken the responsibility for others and their short-term well-being, but not to the point of life or death and people’s means of living never depended on me. I feel that once I am a role like that I will be able to excel, but it is a daunting feeling and not something that I can take lightly.


Another thing I noticed about this assessment is the recognition that one needs to have of their own emotions and how they are being received and interpreted by others. I have noticed that even with myself in the last month or so. I have been stressed and so busy that sleep is put on the backburner, but I try to not allow that to affect the different teams that I work with. I know I have apologized to my employees one day because I wasn’t in a great mood, and they understood of why I didn’t want to engage in small-talk. I think this important for managers/leaders because people look to them to set an example and if they are upset for no reason it may lead to a dramatic situation.

Leadership Courage

When reflecting on past leadership opportunities that I have had, I examined my courage as a leader. Receiving an 8, I realized that I have a strong set of values that I stand up for. I often stand up for tough decisions that I know need to be made.

This came into play on Wednesday, February 22, 2012. As it was announced that UNI would be closing the Price Laboratory School, this was a true test of leadership courage. While the initial reaction among students was not positive, I felt as though I was one of the few that were willing to stand up for the decision. I know it is not a decision that was made lightly, but one that was necessary. It is not a decision that was made to make people happy, but one to sustain the university that we all love.

While I have never had to make decisions this courageous, I have had to stand up to decisions that were not liked by the majority. While changing the Northern Iowa Student Government (NISG) Election Rules, I pushed to make some major changes. I advocated shortening the election season and cutting the amount that candidates can spend. Some people were against this, they wanted to keep the election season and not cut it in order to candidates to reach out to student groups. However, past history hasn't shown that candidates use the entire amount of time to reach student groups. Also, not very many people took into consideration the effect of campaigning on not only the candidates, but their teams as well. This was an extremely unpopular decision, but in the midst of campaign season, no one really notices and all of the current President and Vice President Tickets don't even know what they would do with 7 more days. The money wasn't as big of an issue, but with the current state of higher education, it is something that will be looked at it, and if a tough decision needs to be made to help students be able to run for these positions, that decision will be made.

The Big 5

The Big Five, or as I like to say OCEAN. Actually, the Big 5 is Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism (or Emotional Stability, but ES doesn't make a cute little mnemonic device).

As one of the first assessments I took, I figured it should be one of the first I write about, and with no straightforward way to start this off, we can jump right in. In analyzing my results, where extroversion, openness to experience and conscientiousness were ranked highest, there was no Cinderella story coming out of the woodwork. I felt the assessment, as well as the answers were all straightforward.

Even though I don’t feel that I am an extraverted person, I can see how I am. I don’t like to talk to people that much and I enjoy doing things on my own, but when it comes to meeting new people and taking the lead, I do enjoy that. I will randomly talk to people to avoid awkward silences or strike up conversations with whomever may be around at the moment. I’m not the extravert that is the life of the party, I actually prefer that attention is not drawn to me, but if it has to I won’t avoid the situation.

Openness to experience was also not too extremely shocking. As shown by the other exercises as well as through what I have learned about myself, I like change. I enjoy trying new things and very rarely shy away from any opportunity placed in front of me. I am extremely conscientiousness. I think it is the leader’s roles to help with the little details so the team members are able complete the task.  I always pay attention to the little details and think they are what make the difference in the long run. While I think that paying attention to details is important, I need to be efficient. It is hard for me to tolerate people who don’t manage their time efficiently. I believe that if things are done efficiently, then there should be time for more activities.

I see how my neuroticism and agreeableness are lower than the others. I am not too extremely critical of myself and I try to control my emotions in every situation I am in. While I am not perfect about controlling my emotions, I have seen what happens when one’s emotions are not in check. I feel that my score for agreeableness is lower because I sometimes have challenges with emotional intelligence and empathizing with others. It is something I am working on, but sometimes I have trouble relating to others in this way and while it may seem insulting to others, that is never my intention. I have noticed it more lately because I have been more stressed, but I have been working on it and when I feel like I am about to say something negative or if I had already, I immediately apologize and try to remedy the situation.

My Leadership Potential

 According to this assessment, I have many potential leadership qualities. This assessment looked at potential leadership skills versus management qualities I find it comforting knowing that I have the potential to evaluate my leadership style and continuing to grow and refine my leadership skills. I also realize that since my score between mostly true's and mostly false's was close, I need to pay attention to whether or not I am using leadership skills or management skills.

I think my score in the potential leadership qualities area is reflective of practices that I have been using in the past. I have looked to inspire a vision for a group to help provide a manageable end-state that is reachable. I have tried to develop new ideas and challenged myself as well as others to look at the world through different perspectives. I feel that I have some of these skills, and with constant work and practice I can begin to use these skills to continue to become a better leader.

This being said, management skills come into play. I have noticed that I have responded to problems and dealt with them to help the group continue to perform. I have sought to maximize efficiency and effectiveness as well as stability in everything that I have done. Realizing that these are management’s qualities and not leadership qualities, and realizing that this isn't what leaders need to be constantly concerned with is going to be a challenge. At times it seems these activities are ingrained in my behavior and is not going to be something that will be easy to change.

Since I have worked as a manager and as a leader of a variety of teams and groups, I have found that there is an extremely blurry line between these two types of individuals. In my experience, in agreement with the information provided in the assessment, new leaders to understand the managerial qualities before reaching their potential within the leadership qualities. I have noticed this myself. When first starting as a manager, I focused more on solving the problems and worrying about the day-to-day operations. After some time, when I was comfortable with these operations, I began to look at the bigger picture. It was with the managerial understanding that I was able to understand how to use different perspectives in my outlook. This experience taught me that, being a leader means you have to understand and appreciate the managerial activities, you don't need to always actively participate in doing them, but understand how they play into the vision you are setting for the group.

My Personal Best Leadership Experience

I have never faced more challenges or pushed my leadership abilities farther than during my term as President of the Residence Hall Association. During that time I was introduced to the challenge of providing a vision for a group and more importantly selling that vision and getting members to agree with it. It all started after I was elected President. I was informed that I would be leading a team to work on restructuring the group; little did I know at the time the department wanted this done by late July. The restructure encompassed many of the changes I had hoped to make, but on a much larger scale.

The restructuring of the organization took place over the summer in 2010, and I was president until the following April. During that time I combined two separate organizations, Residence Leadership Association which was composed of the Presidents of each Hall Senate, and ProBoard which planned campus-wide activities for on-campus residents. I worked with a team to create a new constitution, meeting outline, a set of clear goals and objectives for the year.

I also helped fill a half-full executive board, supported members in planning and executing programs, but most importantly strived to get the RHA name out there.  There was a variety of little challenges along the way such as program ideas, an unsupportive department, and over-involved advisors. None of these compared to the amount of work and dedication it took to continuously motivate and encourage people to work for the betterment of the group and its members.

This was truly a challenging process. I was continually over-analyzing every statement before saying anything. I wanted to make sure I was coming off as encouraging and being supportive but not letting people run with ideas that didn't fall within the mission and vision of the organization. I spent countless hours just talking with people: people inside the organization, people outside the organization, anyone that would listen. I wanted to gain others insight on what was going on and have a variety of perspectives on the situation. Just working on my behavior and all of the communication was more than a full-time job. I realized that leaders spent most of their time listening to others, yes I was talking to other about the situations, but I spent the majority of the time listening to their responses. Learning to listen to other's ideas is the biggest lesson I gained from this experience. I learned that one person alone cannot make change, but it takes a group and with this group, everyone will have an opinion but it's the leaders’ job to make sure they are all aligned with the goal.

A few other lessons from this experience:

• ·         I think always being prepared is an important part of the leader's responsibilities. Doing research before the meetings and being aware of what was going on throughout the organization helped gain credibility with the members.
• ·         Having objectives at the beginning of what I knew had to be accomplished. These weren’t really goals, but tangible things I knew had to be done in order to survive as a group. I knew that we had to brand our name, create a logo and use it everywhere. It was never a goal, but just something that I always took into consideration throughout the year.
• ·         I focused on building a team. I tried to get to know everyone and start conversations amongst the group. Since everyone was a student, we had lots in common and were in similar situations, there was no reason to not share these experiences. I, along with the rest of my executive team, was required to show up early for the meetings. This time was spent not only talking amongst ourselves, but starting conversations with others in the group. I required people to not go with their friends when getting into programming groups and it helped foster connections within the group. At the end of the year, we were a tight-knit group and it was sad to see everyone leave.
• ·         That sometimes to help others grow and help the group succeed, you need to delegate. As a leader you cannot do everything, but you need to surround yourself with people who are able to. I learned that it isn’t about my accomplishments and what I get done, but what the group accomplishes together.
• ·         Throughout my time as RHA President, as well as my time as NISG Election Commissioner, I learned that you have to be open to ideas. Yes, it may mean staying up all night to study because you spent most of your days talking to other people, but it will be worth it in the end. Sharing your ideas and hearing others are a great way to achieve a better outcome than either party would have gotten to on their own.
• ·         Lastly, I learned to follow my gut. Whenever I was in doubt or unsure about anything, I always relied on my gut instinct. As a leader who was put into this position because people knew my skills. I had lots of different experiences and a good sense of right and wrong, you wouldn’t be put into this role if you hadn’t. Always listening to your gut and what you think is right is a great way to make it through tough situations
• While my time as RHA President was extremely beneficial, it has been shaped largely about leaders that I have worked with. Being involved in Residence Life and other aspects of Student Affairs has allowed me opportunities to work with a variety of professionals. I would not have changed these opportunities for anything.

One that sticks out the most to me was my on-campus advisor when I first began serving on the Regional Board of Directors. Often, I would find that I had my own mindset and she pushed me to see things from different perspectives. She asked questions of why I was doing something and held me accountable for everything that I was doing. Most importantly, she listened to me. Since she is no longer my advisor, this is something I have truly come to value and miss immensely.

While looking at my observations on other leaders in my life, for me, it always comes back to their listening skills. I value my leader’s ability to listen to others. I think it shows humbleness because they may not always have the best ideas or even an idea, but are willing to learn from others. I think the next thing that all of the influential leaders I have come across, is they all have a passion for something. They all do something that makes them happy and they have a vested interest in. This has spilled over to our conversations and their ability to instill a passion within me. They have shown that if I take on a cause or find something I am interested in, I should pursue it. Overall, these people are all caring; they value others and helping others. That helped reaffirm my decision to go onto student affairs, I have seen how caring people are, even after turning down an internship, I get emails saying that if I need anything to contact them; I just don't think that every field has that. The interactions with these leaders have also shown me what I want in a future manager or how I want to be a future manager or leader. They have set the bar extremely high and will continue to push me to succeed. 

An Introduction to an Overly Passionate Person

I am the stereotypical over-involved college student. I put my student groups, friends, work, and papers before the recommended 8 hours of sleep per night. I have dreams of mermaids and motorcycles and someday I will meet a man who dances. Take a look around, or move on, either way, always make your own decisions. 

This is my introduction to my blog and in its own unique way it sums up what I have learned about myself through the variety of assessments. I value my friends and they often come first. I have learned to treat my family as my friends, not as the family I am stuck with, but people I enjoy being around. I try to surround myself with those that are like-minded in their work ethic and completely diverse in their opinions. We are never seen arguing, but rather enlightening each other on different viewpoints. These friendships provide viewpoints different than my own; they provide an insight to the world I would have never had on my own. I value my education; no, I have a passion for my education. My experiences at UNI have shown me that an education needs to teach one to write, think, and speak at high level. I am saddened that this realization didn't hit home until the end of my senior year, but it is something that will never leave me. I have grown a whole new curiosity for the world around me. This leads to another thing I value, curiosity, adventure, and variety. I have a fear of being stagnant; I have a fear of accepting the status quo. I love change and I excel in situations filled with change. I'm moving 10 hours away, to a city where I know no one, and couldn't be more excited, because I know that no matter what, I can learn something. The minute I accept that I have nothing left to learn, is the minute life isn't worth living. 

My blog introduction explains why others would want me as a leader. I have a passion for others, my friends, my student groups, and my education. I am an extremely passionate person, and that passion carries over into everyone that I interact with. I have found this this passion for serving others often leaves me lacking sleep, but I feel that through these actions, I am benefiting myself. I succeed every time others succeed, and I strive to succeed every day. This passion for others creates a passion to better myself, to continue to educate myself. I have a curiosity that is unmatchable. I think asking "Why?" is the most influential and powerful thing a person can say. 

But most importantly I have an outlook on life that few others have. I see not only the need for change, but the ability in everyone to make this change a reality. I have realized that someday is right now and it is essential to leave a positive and lasting impact in all that we do. I have a positive outlook on everything and never see the glass as half-full; it's always full no matter what anyone may say. I am a person guided by a strong set of values that can never be compromised, I have a strong personal vision and know that anything is possible when a couple of people work together to shine their light on the world. 

A Little Bit of Studying

I have found that I only blog when I should be studying. This may be because I am rarely by a computer not busy with another task, or my need for reflection during these times. Going with the latter will for once help me not only become a better person, but complete an assignment as well.

About 6 weeks ago I was assigned a Leadership Development Portfolio. It was our reflection on a variety of assessments. I some-what started this about a month ago, which for me is unheard of, so this alone should earn a few brownie points. But it was through this assignment, I have put my concrete ideas about myself down on paper. Sure I knew I liked analyzing my decisions and I knew that I wanted to stay organized and occasionally I varied between task and relationship focused projects. Today, I can use the technical terms behind these ideas.

The technical terms were great, but they aren't what I'm most excited about. I'm most excited to look at my growth. Four years ago I took a rather in-depth assessment looking at what I needed to know when going out into the business world and what future managers needed to know about me. Comparing the results from the two assessments, I can see areas I have stayed the same. These are the areas that deal with my personality, my personality hasn't changed drastically, nor should it have, but it has been refined around the edges. The other changes were in my approaches, I have become more aware of myself in the social structure known as the workplace, for example. Over the next couple blog posts (my professor wanted a journal, but I blog so I'm just changing the requirements) you will get an insight to me (that and I had no idea how to write a paper on this, so I chose to be a little creative.) 

Tales from the Computer Lab

Yes, I have a paper due, no I'm not working on it right and now and am instead doing this. It's only a 20-30 page reflection on self-assessment exercises from class. And it's due next week; what seems about a year away. Which brings me to exciting news number one, MACURH's annual No Frills Conference is in a few days! This means I get to head up to Minneapolis for the weekend. I love big cities, especially Minneapolis, it's just something about being up there that gets to me.

That however is not the reason for this blog post. I have decided I need to blog for multiple reasonos:
1. I hate keeping a diary. Each time I started a diary when I was younger, I abandoned it after a few days. I feel like I need to change that and figured why not use technology to my advantage here.

2. I feel ranting to people on the internet would be better than ranting at people I don't know, or worse people I do not. So thank you internet for allowing me to vent and not judging me.

3. Like I said I don't want to work on this paper.

As much as I would love to continue to write, I need to head to bed. Yes it is early and no I will not be going right to sleep, but I'm going to attempt to (after leaving the Union and reading a chapter to prepare for tomorrow, and maybe the new How I Met Your Mother episode!).

Have a great night internet, and thanks for not judging.

-Jill

ps. Did you hear Matt Bomer is gay? It was a discussion I had with my boss a couple weeks ago where based on the "reliable" information on the internet we concluded that he way, and we were right. I am in complete support for this minus the fact it means I have absolutely no chance. (I was going to put a smiley face in here, but I can't be that girl)