Relevant KASB capacities:
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| The seniors of Alpha Xi Delta. |
- Intrapersonal Skills
- Ability to organize one's life and responsibilities
- Behavior
- Identify opportunities to lead
- Take initiative and action to engage in leadership in a variety of settings
Reflection:
My first two years in college were a struggle. I was dealing with personal and academic issues that led to a very unbalanced lifestyle. I wasn't doing well in school. I learned that meeting new people was actually scary so my fear and lack of confidence prevented me from joining other extracurricular clubs. I had so many hurdles I had to jump over that it set me back quite a bit (in terms of being involved).
In high school, I was the second most involved person in my graduating class. This was measured by the amount of cords each person received. One was given for completing requirements for certain clubs. I knew who my competition was and I knew I was doing better. There was only one other individual (cursed Emily Feinstein) who received one more cord than I did. Past her, I was the reigning champion. From my poor memory, I received 5 cords - Cross Country/Track, National Honor Society, Forensics (Speech & Debate), Mu Alpha Theta Tutoring, Student Council, and our very own Spring Valley High School Medallion (hitting a certain GPA). As I walked through the line of graduating seniors to take my place in front (as an Honors graduate with a last name starting with "C"), I received an overwhelming amount of compliments from my peers - mostly people I didn't even know! I heard side comments of jealousy and awe for the number of cords I wore around my neck.
The purpose of this story isn't to gloat. It's to illustrate how involved I am used to being and how much I love to do so. I get bored really easily so my remedy is to join as many clubs as I possibly can! My lack of involvement during my early college years led me to overburden myself my senior year. I am tired every day, I complain, and sometimes I think about if I took on too much... but the answer is always "but it's worth it."
Ability to organize one's life and responsibilities
I don't know where i would be if I didn't have a planner. This is my bible. If I don't have it, then I don't know what I'm doing. I color coordinate all my main responsibilities and prioritize what needs to get done with weekly To-Do lists. I also take the syllabuses I receive from each class and write ALL the homework, assignments, and tests so I'm not blindsided by a deadline.
Identify opportunities to lead
If there's one takeaway I can draw from my high school experiences about overloading, it was to make sure I overloaded on projects and activities that were really important to me. This year, I was lucky enough to be very selective of the organizations and events I participated in. I used to do a lot of research and fish around for opportunities, but just by knowing lots of people and having lots of conversations, I knew what was going around on my campus and how I could get involved. For example, I have been involved in my sorority (Alpha Xi Delta) and business fraternity (Alpha Kappa Psi) since my freshman year. I wanted to diversify my experiences so I remain an active member in good standing for both organizations and do what is expected of me, but nothing more.
On top of that, I know which clubs I wanted to take a leadership role in and which ones I could take a back seat in. I also made it a point to be on almost every listserv that I had a remote interest in (i.e. listservs for the Drama department, Husky Sales Club, Ad Club, Association of Women in Communications, etc. to name a few). Although I am not members of some of these organizations, I can either (a) learn about various opportunities I can be a part of or (b) forward them to someone I think would be interested.
Take initiative and action to engage in leadership in a variety of settings
This year, I have only three main responsibilities (past being a student) that I cater to.
The first includes an entrepreneurship class I am taking dubbed "Creating A Company." As the CEO of Sleeve Up!, I spend a LOT of time organizing, delegating, and meeting with people. I blog about my experiences here. I highlight anything to do with Sleeve Up! in orange.
The second includes my internship with Northwestern Mutual. I want to do sales after I graduate so I chose to do an internship where I could gain very applicable experience. As a paid internship requires, I do commit 10-15 hours per week. Most of my time spent is making phone calls in our downtown office or meeting with people around the Greater Seattle Area to discuss their personal financial planning. There are also required meetings/trainings every Wednesday and Friday at 7:30 AM. I highlight anything to do with Northwestern Mutual in pink.
My last BIG commitment involves the Senior Class Gift Council. Through being on the listserv for FIG Leaders, a First Year Program director forwarded us an opportunity to work at commencement. I dragged my friend with me and we worked all of graduation last year. As we watched the Senior Class Gift be presented by the Chair and Vice Chair, I told my friend Zola that I wanted to be her. From that point on, I sought for who to talk to and how to get involved. Essentially I found myself on the council through my own personal initiative as well as being nominated from a faculty member. At that point, leadership applications were open for all council members. I naturally applied for Chair and upon an interview, I was offered the position!
We are raising money for the UW Counseling Center and 100% of the money to goes to them in a lump sum. We named it the Class of 2013 Mental Wellness Fund. Currently we have a little over $15,000 raised - our goal is to break $50,000! I'm really excited because we're doing such a unique thing (in terms of gift ideas) while providing seniors a chance to give back. It's great. I highly anything to do with the Senior Class gift Council with blue.
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