Volunteer Experience

Volunteerism wasn’t a really big part of my life during my sophomore year. I did the bare minimum though of at least 30 hours. That’s not at all bad for me to say but I could of definitely did more. Being a leader means putting time and effort into others. I could only do so much though because I was busy with getting my grades and classes in good shape. As a leader I always strive for better and I expect that I do better. This year was my earnestly worst time to volunteer. Yet, what I could do did make a difference none the less. For example, Sarah Cortez told me of all the benefits I would be doing for the community of Flint if I joined their F.A.C.T.S Team in the spring and I did! It was really cool. My leader was Jazmin from LAS and she did a great job at leading. What we did was we raked leaves and we also picked up a huge amount of trash. I was in shock on the state of Flint. I never have been in Flint till then and I assumed people exaggerated the living conditions. I know they over do the amount of deaths but honestly the amount of houses in shambles was not at all. I did at least 10 ish hours of service work that day. I don’t know if this counts but I also donated plasma every Tuesday and Thursday for the entire year. I don’t count it because I got paid but also it is volunteerism that made me do it because someone would benefit from my donation. I participated in several volunteer programs through the Program Board such as ushering for the Chris Fleming presentation on Ghost Hunting. I was also volunteering all day from 9am-5pm on picking up trash on Earth Day. Like it was not even an event I just wanted to pick up the trash because I love my Earth. It was good work and honest. I did serve I suppose another 30 hours toward getting my OA lodge all set for the year. Oh my God, I didn’t do bare minimum! I forgot about the OA events that I help put on! I am so happy. What I am talking about is I spent a total of 100+ as the OA service chair for Elangomating. I can’t believe I forgot. That is so great.

Alright, so the big take away is that I don’t care for number of hours of volunteering because I volunteer for the people that benefit from me. I don’t count the hours by the hour because what i do I do it out of kindness and I really don’t like it at all when I am required. It’s a basic human instinct to help others and I find it enjoyable. So I guess I can say that Leadership isn’t always about the work you put in BUT the impact that you will have on others. It all depends on how you see yourself and what you do as a person that makes the difference.

Here I come Detroit

I know nothing about Detroit except that it is home to the Detroit Tigers. I think that is pretty sad on my part. In fact, I only go to Detroit for Tiger games when I can go for free. It isn’t just me though. Plenty of people don’t know this grand city. It was home to the car manufacture back in its hayday. The motor city was a hustling and busy place. However, over time it has fallen into what I have heard a state of “ruin”. I wish I could put my two cents in, but I must wait till I get there. On a light side of things I am going this weekend for a leader based program. I can’t wait!

Perhaps the social issue I am quite familiar with is poverty. People living off welfare, on the streets, and without the proper necessities to live. It is devastating to know it happens in my own home state. How I learned about this is by the ear. People talk about Detroit as if it is on fire every other week. I don’t think it is that bad I want to be optimistic about this city. I hope to finally realize what people are saying.

The vision of the leadership institute is to “prepare the next generation of individuals who will act responsibly to improve the quality of life”. We find leaders of today. Perhaps a leader could be in Detroit. It’s up to a community of leaders to get to them and help them in their community. I believe that as leaders at CMU we have the responsibility to further our learning of service experience. There are workers right now in Detroit that clean up the community everyday. This experience and what I hope to get out of it is to understand the struggle and the commit people have to help grow a community.

What I think the trip to Detroit will help me grow in is to understand the purpose of the LI. Even though it states, “to prepare Michigan students and citizens for leadership roles in an increasingly complex and challenging society” I need to know where I fit. How will I make that difference?

Ted Talk Reflection

Recently in the month of February I watched a Ted Talk video. It featured a man name Simon Sinek, and he introduced the audience to a reason of how some leaders/business manage to be more successful than others.

Simon Sinek took a pen and pad and drew a huge circle. He then proceeded to draw two more circles within that huge circle. He labeled the outer most circle “What”, the middle ring “How”, and the inner circle he wrote “Why.” By doing so Sinek points to the audience that most companies work from the outside circle into the inner circle. Only a few companies like Apple, as a primary example, started from the “Why they do this” to the “What they do.” They made eventually more money than any other name brand computer company.

This trick is no secret. Most leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. started with “why.”MLK is best known for civil rights movements. He proclaimed, “I have a dream” and not “I have a plan” which differs greatly. He knew deep down in his soul that why he did it was that he was motivated by making equality throughout the whole United States of America. Then he proceeded to do demonstration’s and speeches across the southern states for his “How.” Finally, he tells people he so happens to be a civil rights leader.

I was truly inspired by this Ted Talk that it made me reflect back at all my previous engagements and how I presented myself as a leader to others. There was times that I had huge successful points in my Boy Scouting career, and then there wasn’t so great of times. Perhaps I should focus solely on helping and teaching others rather than telling them my qualifications of what makes me capable of being a leader. I currently have on my desktop a notecard with just the words, “Why do I do this.”

It’s also important to inspire others. A personal goal that I have is to inspire others to carpe the heck out of their diem. When I was growing up I was my introverted than extroverted. Then it changed as soon as I went into middle school. Every year my confidence in myself flourished. To this day I still hold back at times. However, my personal growth has increased greatly.

My good friends around me were well introverted. It changed though when they went into high school. It’s good to see life rapidly get energetic in people. I love to see people be movers and doers. I understand that people prefer being introverted, but I want them to know anytime they want to act crazy run wild it’s okay. Thinking outside the box is a way to keep the mind imaginative.

 

Mystery Reflection

Leadership comes from a no. Yes, you read it correctly. I didn’t mean to put a yes. I did put the two letter word. I want to more outside the box when formulating a response to this question.

My personal thought is that if everything in the world worked perfectly then we don’t need leadership. However, today I am the leader, but I am the leader for some people said, “No”. I took the initiative to direct and guide others not because I said yes, but because others said “no”. I wanted to help others, because others lead them away with a “No”. This concept is far-fetched.

A person who seeks change is more often than not told no, and then once they find that certain someone then they will be hearing a yes. Not everyone can achieve greatness without failing. It’s okay to fail and be lead a stray. However, if you earnestly believe in something or someone there is a good chance you will bounce back.

George Washington our great leader in charge of the American Army in fact loss plenty of battles within the first 3 years. He probably heard many people tell him he couldn’t do it. However, with his earnest belief for a country of independence he led the Americans to victory. It takes time to build the momentum of a leader. It will take criticism and distrust. However, the leader will be victories when they stick to their beliefs and make themselves stronger.

Failure is an option. It will be an option, but don’t let failure turn into neglect. If you keep working at the leadership skills you have then you will do wonders. Still to this day I go to seminars about leadership, participate in leadership games, and provide trainings about leadership. Every time I do one of these things I grow in small ways that will leave a lasting impact.