LEADERSHIP & SOCIAL CHANGE MINOR
Click here to find information about the Leadership and Social Change minor offered at Virginia Tech.
Listed below, you will find a course description of the six classes I have taken while working toward the Leadership and Social Change minor, as well as the experiences I have had while taking the classes.
LDRS 1015: Exploring Citizen Leadership
This introductory leadership course explores the language, theories, values, and competencies of leadership. Participants will look at leadership challenges such as change, diversity, conflict, and self-awareness. Through examination of both historical and contemporary leaders and leadership philosophies, and models community members will be immersed in an experience that will help them to gain knowledge and develop skills of a socially responsible leader. In this course, students also engage in goal setting, participate in service projects, and experience community through smaller peer group activities.
My Experience: This course was a great introductory class to take because it introduced me to various leadership styles and also helped me form my personal definition of leadership. We analyzed leadership throughout different time periods and in different countries to expand our knowledge on the subject matter.
Leadership 1016: Exploring Citizen Leadership- Communities of Praxis
Praxis is a process: doing – reflecting – deciding– changing – new doing. Students can choose from a variety of course topics, such as Leadership and Popular Culture, Leadership in Literature, Leadership Training and Development, Facilitating Group Dialogue and Reflection, Learning about Diversity and Social Justice, Emotional Intelligence and Personality, and Alumni Networking.
Learning about Diversity and Social Justice, students will be introduced to and engage in critical thought about issues of diversity and social justice including racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, ageism, religious oppression, oppression, ableism, and their intersections. The course is discussion oriented with considerable group work culminating in the development and facilitation of a diversity awareness workshop for RLC and other VT students.
My Experience: Diversity and Social Justice was a class that forced me to see the world through the eyes of others and be more understanding. We learned about the hardships that others face on a day- to- day basis, and I believe that I became more accepting after being exposed to this material. At the end of the semester, my group planned and executed a presentation for our classmates and other VT students to increase awareness about diversity.
My Final Paper for LDRS 1016:
Listed below, you will find a course description of the six classes I have taken while working toward the Leadership and Social Change minor, as well as the experiences I have had while taking the classes.
LDRS 1015: Exploring Citizen Leadership
This introductory leadership course explores the language, theories, values, and competencies of leadership. Participants will look at leadership challenges such as change, diversity, conflict, and self-awareness. Through examination of both historical and contemporary leaders and leadership philosophies, and models community members will be immersed in an experience that will help them to gain knowledge and develop skills of a socially responsible leader. In this course, students also engage in goal setting, participate in service projects, and experience community through smaller peer group activities.
My Experience: This course was a great introductory class to take because it introduced me to various leadership styles and also helped me form my personal definition of leadership. We analyzed leadership throughout different time periods and in different countries to expand our knowledge on the subject matter.
Leadership 1016: Exploring Citizen Leadership- Communities of Praxis
Praxis is a process: doing – reflecting – deciding– changing – new doing. Students can choose from a variety of course topics, such as Leadership and Popular Culture, Leadership in Literature, Leadership Training and Development, Facilitating Group Dialogue and Reflection, Learning about Diversity and Social Justice, Emotional Intelligence and Personality, and Alumni Networking.
Learning about Diversity and Social Justice, students will be introduced to and engage in critical thought about issues of diversity and social justice including racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, ageism, religious oppression, oppression, ableism, and their intersections. The course is discussion oriented with considerable group work culminating in the development and facilitation of a diversity awareness workshop for RLC and other VT students.
My Experience: Diversity and Social Justice was a class that forced me to see the world through the eyes of others and be more understanding. We learned about the hardships that others face on a day- to- day basis, and I believe that I became more accepting after being exposed to this material. At the end of the semester, my group planned and executed a presentation for our classmates and other VT students to increase awareness about diversity.
My Final Paper for LDRS 1016:
![](http://www.weebly.com/weebly/images/file_icons/pdf.png)
ldrs1016-finalpaper.pdf | |
File Size: | 51 kb |
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LDRS 3104: The Dynamics of Leadership
This course examines advanced leadership theories and leadership effectiveness in today's organizations.
My experience: This course focused on leadership structures within organizations. During class, we analyzed and discussed leadership structures of various organizations and discussed how they could go from a good organization to a great organization guided by the book Good to Great by Jim Collins. Throughout the semester, we analyzed a local cupcake shop within our small group and shared our personal feedback about how to become a great organization and how to work toward being a Level 5 Leader.
A weekly blog post that I submitted as an assignment in LDRS 3014:
![](http://www.weebly.com/weebly/images/file_icons/pdf.png)
ldrs3104-blogpost.pdf | |
File Size: | 57 kb |
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LDRS 3304: Elements of Team Leadership
The focus of this course is to enable students to develop effectiveness in leading, delegating, and communicating within a team environment. An emphasis will be placed on emotional intelligence in teams, team management, and effective team processes.
My experience: Throughout this course, we worked in small groups with our classmates to study together and take exams together. This taught me the importance of being a team player and how to contribute my thoughts and opinions in a constructive way. Throughout the semester, my group planned a service project and used different leadership strategies and theories to execute our project in the most effective way possible. The project was a huge success and we gained knowledge and friendships along the way.
The Reel Leadership paper that I submitted as an assignment in LDRS 3304:
![](http://www.weebly.com/weebly/images/file_icons/pdf.png)
ldrs3304-reelleadershippaper.pdf | |
File Size: | 94 kb |
File Type: |
WGS 1824: Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies
This interdisciplinary introduction to Women's and Gender Studies examines interrelations between men and women as social groups in the contexts of race, class and other systems of inequality. It places special focus on the diverse experiences of women and feminist struggles for social change.
My experience: This course opened my eyes to the struggles that women face in today’s society, and ways they can overcome hardships. Throughout the semester, we had discussions on real life scenarios and had multiple guest speakers give presentations to share information to us. Part of our grade was based on weekly journal entries that we wrote explaining our stance on certain issues and personal storied to back up our thoughts. I left this class feeling more knowledgeable and more confident on my opinions on hot topics.
COMM/HUM 3204: Multicultural Communication
Exploration of communication in various cultural groups through the medium of performance. Emphasis on understanding cultural differences and similarities in styles of communication, aesthetics, worldviews, and values.
My experience: This course taught information about various cultural groups in the world and how they live and trials they face on a daily basis. Discussions from this class enlarged my worldly perspective and I gained knowledge about many other cultures. Certain projects included a presentation that discussed a time we felt segregated because of our culture and how we overcame the situation, and we had to individually analyze a video that showcased many cultural groups around the world.