UNIV 101: Leadership Foundations
On September 26th, 2013 at 7 o'clock, as part of my UNIV 101 class, I participated in the Leadership Foundations workshop, hosted by a friendly woman named Yolanda Barnes. I chose to attend this workshop because I am interested in leadership, and enjoy being a leader in virtually every adventure that I undertake. I held many leadership positions in high school, such as band manager, stage manager, and president of my school's GSA club, and I was awarded the George Eastman's Young Leader's award because of this. Overall, I participated in this workshop because leadership is familiar territory, yet still provides new and interesting experiences.
Instead of just talking about the opportunities to lead, the workshop focused on what leadership is, and what its importance is in a society. The discussion was led by Ms. Barnes, but the students did most of the speaking. We also split into groups to discuss as peers what influenced our perception of leaders/leadership, and I discovered how much our society relies on the media to shape its view of leaders.
I knew that leadership is a complex topic, and that there are several theories concerning leadership. However, this workshop showed me Loyola's philosophy regarding leadership. The workshop explained to me the meaning of "set the world on fire", and also showed to me that Loyola does actually mean this--it's not just a clever phrase. Loyola's view is to use your groups, your community, and yourself in order to better the whole system. One idea that I plan to implement in my everyday life and career is the idea of leadership in collaboration. I realized how important it is to listen to the ideas of everyone, and to disagree while still being civil. To do this, I will listen better to the opinions and thoughts of others, and encourage others to take the reins and use their skills to their full potential. Also, there are many other workshops provided by the Leadership Department, and so I can utilize this resource to better improve my leadership skills and better "set the world on fire".
Instead of just talking about the opportunities to lead, the workshop focused on what leadership is, and what its importance is in a society. The discussion was led by Ms. Barnes, but the students did most of the speaking. We also split into groups to discuss as peers what influenced our perception of leaders/leadership, and I discovered how much our society relies on the media to shape its view of leaders.
I knew that leadership is a complex topic, and that there are several theories concerning leadership. However, this workshop showed me Loyola's philosophy regarding leadership. The workshop explained to me the meaning of "set the world on fire", and also showed to me that Loyola does actually mean this--it's not just a clever phrase. Loyola's view is to use your groups, your community, and yourself in order to better the whole system. One idea that I plan to implement in my everyday life and career is the idea of leadership in collaboration. I realized how important it is to listen to the ideas of everyone, and to disagree while still being civil. To do this, I will listen better to the opinions and thoughts of others, and encourage others to take the reins and use their skills to their full potential. Also, there are many other workshops provided by the Leadership Department, and so I can utilize this resource to better improve my leadership skills and better "set the world on fire".