There have been many events throughout my college career that have shaped my understanding of leadership. Three of my most memorable experiences are serving as a council member for my sorority, Kappa Delta, serving as a 2012 Orientation Leader, and participating in group projects for class.
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Kappa Delta Council Member
What?
Throughout my sophomore, junior, and senior year at Virginia Tech, I served on the chapter council for my sorority, Kappa Delta. I am so thankful to have had this experience because it helped me mature as a leader, and as an individual. Although the experiences taught me so much along the way, there were many times that were so challenging that I wanted to give up.
So What?
During the two and a half years of being a council member, I served as Vice President- Operations and then President. Serving as a leader for my chapter was a challenge because the women who I was leading were my best friends. As a chapter leader, I had to make many decisions, and my friends did not always agree with what I decided. Most of the time, it would have been easier for me to make a decision that all of my friends agreed with, but the as a leader, I knew it was important to make decisions that were in the best interest of the chapter, even if the decision was unpopular among my friends.
Now What?
While serving as a chapter leader, the most valuable thing I learned was to explain “WHY”. When I made a decision that didn’t sit well with my friends, I welcomed them to come talk to me and voice their opinions. This gave them a chance to know that their thoughts were being heard, but it also gave me a chance to share why I made the particular decision. It allowed my friends to understand that there was a reason behind the decision that I made, and it was in order to help our chapter rise to new heights. In time, my friends became more understanding, and I gained their support on making decisions because they understood how it would benefit our chapter. Although I experienced many tough times, I learned so much that I will be able to use in my life after graduation. Over the past three years, our chapter has improved greatly and has received positive recognition from our national organization.
What?
Throughout my sophomore, junior, and senior year at Virginia Tech, I served on the chapter council for my sorority, Kappa Delta. I am so thankful to have had this experience because it helped me mature as a leader, and as an individual. Although the experiences taught me so much along the way, there were many times that were so challenging that I wanted to give up.
So What?
During the two and a half years of being a council member, I served as Vice President- Operations and then President. Serving as a leader for my chapter was a challenge because the women who I was leading were my best friends. As a chapter leader, I had to make many decisions, and my friends did not always agree with what I decided. Most of the time, it would have been easier for me to make a decision that all of my friends agreed with, but the as a leader, I knew it was important to make decisions that were in the best interest of the chapter, even if the decision was unpopular among my friends.
Now What?
While serving as a chapter leader, the most valuable thing I learned was to explain “WHY”. When I made a decision that didn’t sit well with my friends, I welcomed them to come talk to me and voice their opinions. This gave them a chance to know that their thoughts were being heard, but it also gave me a chance to share why I made the particular decision. It allowed my friends to understand that there was a reason behind the decision that I made, and it was in order to help our chapter rise to new heights. In time, my friends became more understanding, and I gained their support on making decisions because they understood how it would benefit our chapter. Although I experienced many tough times, I learned so much that I will be able to use in my life after graduation. Over the past three years, our chapter has improved greatly and has received positive recognition from our national organization.
![Picture](/uploads/2/6/2/9/26296018/9212567.jpg?364)
2012 Virginia Tech Orientation Leader
What?
During the summer of 2012, I served as an Orientation Leader for the incoming freshman class at Virginia Tech. This experience began with extensive training throughout the spring semester and during the summer, before the orientation program began in July. After completing training, Orientation Leaders responsible for facilitating sessions during Orientation with a group of about 20 students. Serving as an Orientation Leader allowed me to meet and connect with diverse students who came from many different backgrounds.
So What?
The training sessions that Orientation Leaders went through were very helpful and taught different information from The Fish Philosophy to dealing with students who have psychological disorders. As an orientation leader, I felt very prepared for the first day of Orientation.
Throughout the Orientation process, I had to facilitate a campus tour, a session explaining how to get involved at VT, and a session explaining Virginia Tech’s Principles of Community .
Some challenges that I faced were keeping my peppy attitude in the scorching hot summer weather, learning to adapt on rainy days, and keeping the students involved and excited even though I was teaching the same information each day. It was important that I stayed positive and excited about the information that I was sharing with the students so they would want to learn and make the most of their orientation experience. Another challenge came up when certain students wouldn’t want to listen to the information that was being presented. It was my job as an Orientation Leader to make sure everyone, shy or outgoing, was feeling included and was engaging in conversation while being respectful of one another. Sometimes this meant that I had to adapt my presentation style to make sure all students were being engaged, even if it meant changing my lesson plans for the day.
Now What?
Being an Orientation Leader taught me how to work with and teach individuals who had the most outgoing personalities and also the most quiet. I hope I made an impact on the students who were in my groups and that they take the information they learned to make the most of their college experience at Virginia Tech.
It is rewarding to talk to my old orientation students now that they are in their sophomore year of college and hear how I impacted their lives. Hearing the positive feedback makes all of the hot days and challenges with students completely worth it.
What?
During the summer of 2012, I served as an Orientation Leader for the incoming freshman class at Virginia Tech. This experience began with extensive training throughout the spring semester and during the summer, before the orientation program began in July. After completing training, Orientation Leaders responsible for facilitating sessions during Orientation with a group of about 20 students. Serving as an Orientation Leader allowed me to meet and connect with diverse students who came from many different backgrounds.
So What?
The training sessions that Orientation Leaders went through were very helpful and taught different information from The Fish Philosophy to dealing with students who have psychological disorders. As an orientation leader, I felt very prepared for the first day of Orientation.
Throughout the Orientation process, I had to facilitate a campus tour, a session explaining how to get involved at VT, and a session explaining Virginia Tech’s Principles of Community .
Some challenges that I faced were keeping my peppy attitude in the scorching hot summer weather, learning to adapt on rainy days, and keeping the students involved and excited even though I was teaching the same information each day. It was important that I stayed positive and excited about the information that I was sharing with the students so they would want to learn and make the most of their orientation experience. Another challenge came up when certain students wouldn’t want to listen to the information that was being presented. It was my job as an Orientation Leader to make sure everyone, shy or outgoing, was feeling included and was engaging in conversation while being respectful of one another. Sometimes this meant that I had to adapt my presentation style to make sure all students were being engaged, even if it meant changing my lesson plans for the day.
Now What?
Being an Orientation Leader taught me how to work with and teach individuals who had the most outgoing personalities and also the most quiet. I hope I made an impact on the students who were in my groups and that they take the information they learned to make the most of their college experience at Virginia Tech.
It is rewarding to talk to my old orientation students now that they are in their sophomore year of college and hear how I impacted their lives. Hearing the positive feedback makes all of the hot days and challenges with students completely worth it.
Completing a Group Project
What?
Throughout college, students will most likely be assigned a group project. These assignments can be challenging because it is sometimes hard to get every group member to contribute equally. When assigned a group project for my Dynamics of Team Leadership class, I became nervous, because nobody in the group was taking initiative to start working on the project. I didn’t want to get stuck doing all of the work on my own, so I had to find a way to get my group members involved and working together.
So What?
After thinking of effective ways to make sure all group members were contributing equally, I decided use my strength of developer to talk to my group during a class meeting. Thankfully this conversation was effective. As a group, we set goals and deadlines and delegated jobs to each member of the group, in an effort make sure our project was completed on time. Just as we were all working really well together, we faced a challenge when one group member dropped out of the class. While trying to overcome this challenge, we adapted to this situation by having more meetings than planned, and we each took on a little more work than we originally anticipated.
Now What?
In the end, my group finished our project and successfully presented it to the class. The finished project ended up turning out better than we could have imagined and we got an A on the project.
Throughout this process, I learned that sometimes it takes an individual to emerge as a leader in order to jump-start the efforts of the other group members. Since completing this project, I have had to complete other group projects for classes and for interviews. I am thankful that I had this experience to help me better understand how to work with a group without completely taking over or sitting back too much.
What?
Throughout college, students will most likely be assigned a group project. These assignments can be challenging because it is sometimes hard to get every group member to contribute equally. When assigned a group project for my Dynamics of Team Leadership class, I became nervous, because nobody in the group was taking initiative to start working on the project. I didn’t want to get stuck doing all of the work on my own, so I had to find a way to get my group members involved and working together.
So What?
After thinking of effective ways to make sure all group members were contributing equally, I decided use my strength of developer to talk to my group during a class meeting. Thankfully this conversation was effective. As a group, we set goals and deadlines and delegated jobs to each member of the group, in an effort make sure our project was completed on time. Just as we were all working really well together, we faced a challenge when one group member dropped out of the class. While trying to overcome this challenge, we adapted to this situation by having more meetings than planned, and we each took on a little more work than we originally anticipated.
Now What?
In the end, my group finished our project and successfully presented it to the class. The finished project ended up turning out better than we could have imagined and we got an A on the project.
Throughout this process, I learned that sometimes it takes an individual to emerge as a leader in order to jump-start the efforts of the other group members. Since completing this project, I have had to complete other group projects for classes and for interviews. I am thankful that I had this experience to help me better understand how to work with a group without completely taking over or sitting back too much.