Reflection QuestionsWhat would you change about your UC experience?
If given the opportunity, there would be very little that I would wish to change about my UC experience. Namely, I would hope that I would have extended myself to fully appreciate and take on a breadth of experiential learning opportunities as early as possible in my collegiate career. Secondly, I would make sure that I was more consistent and vigilant in ensuring that the opportunities and responsibilities to which I commit my time are in line with my own goals, passions and vision. What experiences wouldn't you trade for anything? There are two types of experiences that I would not trade for anything in the world: any travel and any experiences with my three best friends. With travel, I would never trade my experiences because I firmly believe that travel of any nature provides a profoundly new experience each and every time in life. When I consider and reflect upon my lifetime, the clearest memories are ones spent outside the context of my day-to-day life. In turn, each of my most profound moments of growth and happiness are ones spent with my three closest friends. I can say without hesitation or fear of contradiction that these three men will be ones with whom I am lifelong friends, and for that reason I would never trade any of our experiences together. What is your favorite story to tell on a tour or an experience you share that always seems to get a great reaction from guests? An experience that always seems to get a great reaction from guests is actual a type of experience that I love to share: travel. Whether it is a basketball game in Memphis or a study abroad trip to London, time that I spend off of UC's campus is often the time and experiences that seem to excite guests the most. They love to hear about examples of me making the most out of my time in college by engaging in travel. Have you made any progress on your three goals during the #SnowWeek? I have been very purposeful in my performance of an act of kindness or gratitude every day since making my goal. I have committed strongly to expressing gratitude on a much more regular basis to those around me, and I feel that it has improved my own life as well as the culture of my environments. I have not yet set a healthy lifestyle goal, but I have cooked more this week and worked to eat more vegetables and balanced meals. Finally, I have set a specific time to sit down with a wonderful friend and work on my interdisciplinary studies proposal in the near future, which is one of the first steps in finalizing my academic path.
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Session 1| February 2ndIn our first ALDP session of the semester, we began by introducing ourselves. The group itself is split into two specific tracks, one for those who have completed the program before and the other for first-time ALDP participants. For the purpose of the program, returning participants will seek to implement a plan for positive change at UC and new participants will explore their own leadership styles and applications for them at UC. Following this, we watched Simon Sinek's TED Talk titled, "How great leaders inspire action," which is the 3rd most viewed TED talk on TED.com. I had seen the video before, and actually read Sinek's book on the same topic, "Start with Why." It has proven to be one of the more powerful ideas to which I've been exposed since coming to UC. ALDP Self-AssessmentWhy would your friends say they enjoy being around you? My friends enjoy being around me for several reasons, and those reasons often depend on the level of friendship that I have with the person. With my best friends, they would say that they enjoy being around me because I am (sometimes painfully) honest with them, hold them in high regard and to a high standard, and am always positive in sticky situations. For other friends, most would say they enjoy being around me because I am passionate, energetic and love being around people. Why do others wish you were a part of their team or organization? Others wish for me to be a part of their team because I do my best to create an environment that encourages idea sharing and that others want to be a part of. In most contexts, I am a capable person who is very detail-oriented, which helps me to do good work as a part of a team. How do you deal with mistakes when they provide opportunities to improve? At times, it is very difficult for me to accept my mistakes, but I very rarely have issues accepting responsibility for them. Most of my issues are with internally accepting the fact that I've made a mistake because I hold myself to a very high standard. However, I am very adept at learning from mistakes that I've made and using them as opportunities to improve. Are you someone others turn to for guidance/counsel/help? At times, my friends will ask for advice and guidance, but most of the topics include professional and student organizational involvement. It is much more rare for my friends to ask for relationship advice or things of that nature. How do you project yourself and your ideas with confidence? I make sure that I only speak on topics on which I have a significant body of knowledge. Also, I make sure that, even if I'm presenting an idea of mine, I am actively seeking feedback and asking questions in a way that allows me to remain confident. How do you leave a lasting positive impression when you depart a forum? Before leaving any meeting or forum, I usually make a round around the venue in order to say my goodbyes to those I've met and those I already knew. I believe it is a nice courtesy to say goodbye to someone, let them know you enjoyed the time you spent with them, and also clarify any plans for future interactions if appropriate. Also, it's a small point, but I always make sure to wish people to have a great rest of their day/night/weekend/etc. Are you comfortable around others you do not know? In most situations, I am comfortable around others that I do not know. However, for me to truly feel comfortable, I need to feel like I am on the same level or in a more powerful position than the people I don't know. If I'm in both a subordinate position as well as not around people I know, it does make me a bit uneasy. How do you rate your level of realization of what is going on in the world? I don't keep up with world news as much as I think I should, but I would also say I have a strong sense of taking in information about what is going on through a wide lens that allows me to examine those events with a high level of rationale. How knowledgable are you in a variety of key current events? Do you consider yourself 'well-read' or 'highly-informed'? Compared to some of my very politically and governmentally minded friends, I do not consider myself well-read or highly informed. I have a conversational knowledge of most world events, but do not delve much deeper on too many issues on a regular basis. Do you consider yourself a 'perceptive' person -- are you able to make accurate assessments of people and situations? I do consider myself a highly perceptive person. I am quite observant, and find the field of emotional intelligence extremely fascinating. I am usually accurate in assessing people, situations, and the interplay of those environments and emotion. How could you exhibit more positivity in your life? There are many ways by which I could exhibit more positivity in my life. Notably, some of these include decreasing the (playfully) negative comments my best friends and I exchange with one another, more actively searching for positive media to absorb, and posting more publicly the things that inspire and motivate me for others to see on a regular basis. What bad habits do you have that you may be trying to break? Recently, I have allowed myself to much more easily choose to put off work that I know I must do. I've allowed myself to more regularly choose to enjoy time with friends and do other similar things to a bit of an extreme because I used to be at the other extreme. It's less of a habit that I'm trying to break, and more of something that I need to find a middle ground on. What habits are you trying to begin? I would like to begin habits that are sustainable and will lead me to living a healthier lifestyle. If this means being physically active for 30 minutes a day or adding a piece of fruit to my diet every day, then I would be interested in doing so. Most importantly, I want to begin habits that are simple to adopt and easy to maintain. How do you hold unconditional positive regard for other people and guests? I only allow for my own interactions with a person to inform my perception of them. I will appropriately consider others' accounts, but not allow my judgments of a person to be made based upon them. How do you respect diversity? I believe that the best way that I respect diversity is by not assuming knowledge and experiences that I don't have with respect to diversity. The best that I know how to do is to respect others' diversity in every way I know how and to ask questions when I am unsure about a situation or certain information, as opposed to assuming answers that could result in me being disrespectful or offensive. What motivates you? I am motivated by the amazing things that I see happening in the world: the amazing people I meet, the amazing things they do, and the amazing ideas that they share. When I see other people doing these things, it motivates me to be proactive in my own life. I am motivated by a vision of the world where every person actively pursues their passions in their professional and/or personal lives. I want to do work that allows me to help others discover their passions in life, and the idea of doing that motivates me. Other than to earn money, why do people work? People work for a large breadth of reasons. Some of these include: personal achievement, recognition, fame, to satisfy a need for self-worth, to pass the time, to add meaning to their lives, to meet other people, etc. At the core, though, people work in order to fulfill their needs, whatever those may be. When are you at your very best? I am at my very best when I am entrenched in an environment with people as committed to personal growth and development as I am and we are united in that journey toward a common cause. What limits you, or prevents you, from being all you wish to be? My own insecurities keep me from being all I wish to be. Choices that I make without my long-term interests in mind can build my character to be something other than all I wish to be, because each and every thought I have and decision I make contributes to the construction of my character. In what areas of development do you focus most? I focus primarily on the area of emotional intelligence in my own development. I am constantly working to improve my ability to identify, understand, utilize and manage my own and others' emotions in positive ways that helps me become a better communicator, empathize with others, relieve stress and defuse conflict. Most recent books you have read? "Start with Why" by Simon Sinek "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell "Beer and Circus" by Murray Sperber "The Element" by Sir Ken Robinson What do you always find yourself wishing you had more time to do? I wish that I made more time for myself to read and write. They are two things that I love to do, but are so easy to leave off of my daily list of tasks when so many other things come up and seem more important in the moment. What hobbies do you want to learn in the future? I would love to relearn how to play the piano, or learn another instrument. Music is always something that I enjoyed to do when I was younger, but that I never prioritized as I got older. In conclusion, what immediate goals should you develop for yourself this semester? 1. Perform an act of gratitude or kindness each day 2. Develop and stick to at least one 'healthy lifestyle' goal 3. Complete my proposal for the interdisciplinary studies program Questions for ReflectionWhat are the why's in your life?
I believe that everyone on this earth has a passion for something, whether they've found it or not. I believe that the most amazing things that people do now and have ever done in history are a product of a unique combination or passion and ability. I am empowered when I interact with people and their passions, and I think that finding a passion can be one of the greatest steps in living a fulfilling life. Why did you pursue higher education? I pursued higher education because it was the socially acceptable thing to do in the environment in which I grew up. I stuck with higher education because I quickly realized the breadth of experiences that are offered within an institution of higher education and am excited to explore as many of those experiences as I can while I am able to. Why did you choose UC? I chose UC for several superficial reasons. First, it was the clear financial choice for me. And secondly, the industrial design program is ranked 1st in the country. However, I was also very attracted to the community that I perceived UC to possess. I had the opportunity to meet several UC students while in my senior year of high school, who all expressed to me the community that UC touts. It really does provide big-time university resources and a small-college feel. Why did you join ROAR? I love UC more than just about anything else in this world, and it has given me more than I could ever imagine. As a ROAR guide, my goal isn't to give back to the university -- I do that in other organizations and in other capacities. As a ROAR guide, I want to share with high school students and their families the amazing things that I have experienced (personally and through others' stories) UC do for people, and let them know that it can do the same for them. |
Jeff BackThis blog will archive my time spent in the ROAR Accelerated Leadership Development Program (ALDP) and my time as a ROAR Tour Guide. Archives
June 2015
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