Unique Leadership Identities
Overview
Through reflecting on my core values and key experiences, I have found that I would describe three of my central leadership identities as a “Educational Bridge-Builder,” “Intentional Peer Empowerer”, and “Courageous Collaborator.” These identities encompass the unique approaches that I bring to the work I do and, alongside my core values, help me to discern the outcomes and goals that I have for myself within the relationships I invest in and the tasks I engage in across all contexts of my life.
Intentional Peer Empowerer
The intentional encouragement and insight that my Freshmen Orientation Leader (OL) brought to my A&O group resonated with me and later sparked my own passion for peer mentorship and empowerment too when I was given the chance to follow in their footsteps as an OL. I realized that as a fellow student I could relate to and empathize with the students I was introducing to UW because I had been in their shoes before and found that empowering those around me gave me joy that carried me through even the most challenging moments. I have since continued to pursue opportunities where I get to partner with peers in helping them realize their own potential and define their own pathways. My identity as an Intentional Peer Empowerer is one I hope to continue to center my work around as I seek out future leadership opportunities in education.
Educational
Bridge-Builder
I believe that education is a huge underlying determinant to the pursuit of equity and that all students should have the opportunity to receive an education. This mission has motivated me to invest in positions where I can connect students who are interested in Higher Education with academic and financial resources to help them pursue this desire. One position where this identity was most solidified was as a Student Coordinator for Orientation Programs. I worked with students from all different backgrounds ranging from transfer, to first-generation, to straight out of high school, and as the summer went on I began to understand the heart of my work as both supporting students in building their own bridges between UW resources and opportunities that were unique to their needs and as building personal bridges to move myself forward in my career ambitions. This identity goes hand-in-hand with that of Intentional Peer Empowerer too, as Bridge-Building is a central method of empowerment.
Courageous Collaborator
Collaboration is the most effective way to facilitate self-growth, perspective expansion, and develop results and ideas that encompass a variety of viewpoints, and I have always found myself seeking out opportunities to work with others as a result of that. One place that has especially helped me establish my identity as a Courageous Collaborator though has been through school, starting with my EDPSY 380 class. Through the dynamic groups and setting I have found myself a part of since choosing the Education major, I have learned to quickly adjust to working with diverse groups, how to be bold and assert my own ideas for projects, and how to invite others into sharing as well. Producing a finished product that I contributed to alongside others gives me a special pride, and my identity as a Courageous Collaborator motivates me to be a leader who brings people together around common goals when approaching team-oriented tasks.