Self-Awareness (Unity of Mind and Heart): Self-Awareness was one of the leadership topics that I think I learned the most about. I say this because I truly learned more about myself and how I uncomfortable I am with myself, but I’m content in a group of people that I just met. This may seem extremely backwards, but I feel as if I have placed myself so much inside of uncomfortable situations, meeting new people, to the point where I feel most comfortable. On the first day when everyone moved onto the floor and we were meeting each other, I could tell that some people felt nervous, so I took the initiative to clam them down by approaching them for a nice conversation. Throughout the year as I laid myself down to go to bed, I began to think about the worries or issues I had in my life. On the other hand, when I was centered around people I love, FLP members, I forgot about all of my worries. I took the initiative to become more personable with people, such as: Andrew, Taylor, JT, Henry, and Krista. All of these individuals mean the world to me and I’ve really been able to open up and discuss my issues I am facing, rather than trying to push them away by putting myself in a large group.
Working with Others (Men and Women for and with others): Before entering the Freshman Leadership Program, I thought I had a good understanding of what working with others meant, but now as I reflect on my experiences within FLP, I only understood a small portion of what working with others really meant. Being placed in a learning and living community with like-minded individuals, who strive to be the greatest version of themselves while assisting others, has taught me more about collaboration and striving to be men and women with others. I’ve learned that going to service once a week is not the only version of working with others. I’ve been so blessed to learn that you can be men and women for and with others by just simply assisting friends on the floor going through tough times, such as: a family member passing away, not receiving support from parents, relationship problems, failing a class etc. Outside of late night talks, I have been fortunate that all 58 other members of FLP have different goals in life and specialize in something that others aren’t as good at. The reason as to why I love this is because this is where collaboration and working with others becomes extremely beneficial. We are able to build off of each other’s strengths, ultimately building each other to be the greatest versions of ourselves.
Personal Skills (Cura Personalis): Before entering the Freshman Leadership Program, I didn’t quite know what my personal skills were and how I am different from anyone else or how I stand out in a crowd of 58 other individuals. The reason as to why I said 58 individuals is because I am a strong believer in that everyone has a special skill that they excel at that nobody else on the floor has and that we must build off of each others strengths if we want become better leaders and broaden our knowledge in several different fields. After I realized that and as I reflect, I finally learned what my personal skills are. The personal skills that I personally believe I hold are bringing people happiness and assisting others with investment and resume building. To begin with, one of the kindest compliments that I have ever received was from Nina after Fall break. Nina said, “Charlie!!! I missed your loud voice so much! It seemed to quiet!” I then realized that I can bring people happiness just by my presence, or them just hearing me down the hall or on another floor! In addition, I live by the quote, “every second you spend in sadness is a moment of happiness that you will never get back”. By striving to live by this quote, I try to be as happy as I possibly can and make sure to always smile because peoples mirror neurons will kick in and smile back at you, ultimately brightening their day! It takes 17 muscles to smile and 47 to frown! Secondly, another personal skill that I believe I hold is advising others on investments and resumes. Throughout the year, people have recognized my passion for business, specifically in investments and resume building. An example throughout the year has been several people coming to my room or texting me if I can meet with them to build my resume. One of the most rewarding moments of the year was when I helped Jordan build his resume, which ultimately helped him get a job at the YMCA and as Billy the Blue Jay next year!!! The moment I heard he got both jobs, I realized that I have a personal skill that I can offer to others to make their futures brighter, along with my own.
Planning (Magis): I’ve never been extremely well at planning things out on paper. I love planning for the future and setting goals and checkpoints of where I need to be at a designated time, but I never schedule events on paper. I mainly plan for my future through investments and critiquing my resume, but I need to improve scheduling events on an online calendar and setting reminders on my phone. I recognized my lack of planning when my roommate, Andrew Birkeland, got frustrated at me for never scheduling my meetings and events. After looking at his well laid out schedule, I realized that I needed to start planning my classes, meetings, and events out because then I will have less stress of feeling as if I am going to miss something, or I will never miss anything. From this point on, I am going to start planning out a schedule!!!!
Professionalism (A.M.D.G): The Freshman Leadership Program has taught me numerous things about professionalism. One of which is the importance of asking for help. I am known for being extremely hard headed and I need to figure everything out myself without the help of others. I’ve learned that living in a learning and living community, you must collaborate with each other and build off each others strengths to succeed! At the beginning of the year, I was taking a calculus course and I was completely lost in the course, but I knew my roommate, Andrew, had taken the course in the past. It was really hard to ask for help, but I realized that by asking for help, you not only improve, but the person assisting also benefits because it allows them to practice and apply their skills as well. Not only did I learn to ask for help in school, but in my daily life as well. I’ve asked for help for personal issues and for birthday ideas, such as from Taylor yesterday!
Action (Agent for Change): I’m not exactly sure how to approach this question because I don’t know if this is what actions I have taken to be an agent of change, or what actions I will take following FLP to be an agent of change. I decided that I am going to discuss what actions I will take following FLP, based off of what I have learned and noticed, to be an agent for change. Something that I noticed, with the help of FLP opening my eyes to this idea, has been the lack of networking outside of FLP. I think it is crucial to network outside of FLP for all occupations because you can expand your network of contacts and points of interest. You never know what sort of nugget of information you might find in the future and by broadening your network, you increase your chances of finding this nugget that may change your life. Next year as a mentor, I am going to try to promote this concept by trying to bring in a speaker from each field of interest to break off into small groups so they can discuss how they show leadership and what types of leadership this occupation seeks, no matter what level they are in their carrier.
Working with Others (Men and Women for and with others): Before entering the Freshman Leadership Program, I thought I had a good understanding of what working with others meant, but now as I reflect on my experiences within FLP, I only understood a small portion of what working with others really meant. Being placed in a learning and living community with like-minded individuals, who strive to be the greatest version of themselves while assisting others, has taught me more about collaboration and striving to be men and women with others. I’ve learned that going to service once a week is not the only version of working with others. I’ve been so blessed to learn that you can be men and women for and with others by just simply assisting friends on the floor going through tough times, such as: a family member passing away, not receiving support from parents, relationship problems, failing a class etc. Outside of late night talks, I have been fortunate that all 58 other members of FLP have different goals in life and specialize in something that others aren’t as good at. The reason as to why I love this is because this is where collaboration and working with others becomes extremely beneficial. We are able to build off of each other’s strengths, ultimately building each other to be the greatest versions of ourselves.
Personal Skills (Cura Personalis): Before entering the Freshman Leadership Program, I didn’t quite know what my personal skills were and how I am different from anyone else or how I stand out in a crowd of 58 other individuals. The reason as to why I said 58 individuals is because I am a strong believer in that everyone has a special skill that they excel at that nobody else on the floor has and that we must build off of each others strengths if we want become better leaders and broaden our knowledge in several different fields. After I realized that and as I reflect, I finally learned what my personal skills are. The personal skills that I personally believe I hold are bringing people happiness and assisting others with investment and resume building. To begin with, one of the kindest compliments that I have ever received was from Nina after Fall break. Nina said, “Charlie!!! I missed your loud voice so much! It seemed to quiet!” I then realized that I can bring people happiness just by my presence, or them just hearing me down the hall or on another floor! In addition, I live by the quote, “every second you spend in sadness is a moment of happiness that you will never get back”. By striving to live by this quote, I try to be as happy as I possibly can and make sure to always smile because peoples mirror neurons will kick in and smile back at you, ultimately brightening their day! It takes 17 muscles to smile and 47 to frown! Secondly, another personal skill that I believe I hold is advising others on investments and resumes. Throughout the year, people have recognized my passion for business, specifically in investments and resume building. An example throughout the year has been several people coming to my room or texting me if I can meet with them to build my resume. One of the most rewarding moments of the year was when I helped Jordan build his resume, which ultimately helped him get a job at the YMCA and as Billy the Blue Jay next year!!! The moment I heard he got both jobs, I realized that I have a personal skill that I can offer to others to make their futures brighter, along with my own.
Planning (Magis): I’ve never been extremely well at planning things out on paper. I love planning for the future and setting goals and checkpoints of where I need to be at a designated time, but I never schedule events on paper. I mainly plan for my future through investments and critiquing my resume, but I need to improve scheduling events on an online calendar and setting reminders on my phone. I recognized my lack of planning when my roommate, Andrew Birkeland, got frustrated at me for never scheduling my meetings and events. After looking at his well laid out schedule, I realized that I needed to start planning my classes, meetings, and events out because then I will have less stress of feeling as if I am going to miss something, or I will never miss anything. From this point on, I am going to start planning out a schedule!!!!
Professionalism (A.M.D.G): The Freshman Leadership Program has taught me numerous things about professionalism. One of which is the importance of asking for help. I am known for being extremely hard headed and I need to figure everything out myself without the help of others. I’ve learned that living in a learning and living community, you must collaborate with each other and build off each others strengths to succeed! At the beginning of the year, I was taking a calculus course and I was completely lost in the course, but I knew my roommate, Andrew, had taken the course in the past. It was really hard to ask for help, but I realized that by asking for help, you not only improve, but the person assisting also benefits because it allows them to practice and apply their skills as well. Not only did I learn to ask for help in school, but in my daily life as well. I’ve asked for help for personal issues and for birthday ideas, such as from Taylor yesterday!
Action (Agent for Change): I’m not exactly sure how to approach this question because I don’t know if this is what actions I have taken to be an agent of change, or what actions I will take following FLP to be an agent of change. I decided that I am going to discuss what actions I will take following FLP, based off of what I have learned and noticed, to be an agent for change. Something that I noticed, with the help of FLP opening my eyes to this idea, has been the lack of networking outside of FLP. I think it is crucial to network outside of FLP for all occupations because you can expand your network of contacts and points of interest. You never know what sort of nugget of information you might find in the future and by broadening your network, you increase your chances of finding this nugget that may change your life. Next year as a mentor, I am going to try to promote this concept by trying to bring in a speaker from each field of interest to break off into small groups so they can discuss how they show leadership and what types of leadership this occupation seeks, no matter what level they are in their carrier.