With Training in full swing and back to school around the corner, I believe this is an appropriate time to reflect on my first year as a leader on my campus. These are the four biggest lessons I learned.
1. Communication is truly the key to success.
This is how things get done. You can't talk about the end result and expect everyone to break off and do enough individually and come back with a solid result. Email is a huge part of the leadership role I play as it how our meetings are scheduled. This means everyone is on the same page and we can easily let each other know if we can't make it.
2. Everyone needs someone to look up to.
I became a student leader because I wanted to have a [positive] impact on someone else's life. My specific role is in a classroom serving as a role model for first-year students. While most of the things we talk about in our spare class time revolved around the bolts of living in the residences halls, I would like to think that it helped the students feel more comfortable bringing other topics to me for help.
3. Time management is your best friend.
I was already someone who liked to take everything and plan it down to the hour. I have an irrational fear of being late for everything which is why I am almost always early to everything. Because it is such an important topic in my life I will always insist on teaching in my classes until it becomes irrelevant (haha.. NEVER).
4. It is most definitely OK to "Fly by the seat of your pants!"
My co-instructor taught this to me and it is a lesson I will carry on with me for the rest of my life (Shout out to Jen). Although it took me the whole semester to get acclimated to it, it has definitely changed me for the better. Being able to change the topic in the heat of the moment was a crucial resource during class; especially when no one was feeling the classroom vibes on Wednesday mornings. This past summer I just threw some clothes in a bag and left it at work and if they wanted me on a boat or wading in the water it was no big deal because I could change for that!
Overall, I love what I do in this program and I wouldn't change a thing. Because of the mentors that I had during my first year influenced my decision to move on and help the future freshmen. All I would ever want is to have an impact on someone's life and this is my place to do it.
