Self-identifying with an expert-level in the LEAD competency, I first wish to acknowledge that this by no means should imply I am an expert. I am a firm believer that leadership is a consistent and evolving quality and function of one's life, and understand that there are many areas I can improve upon as a leader and in this competency area.

 

At the same time, I find many of the considerations involving the LEAD area are readily viewable from my experiences over the last ten years. I have evolved leaps and bounds along the way, and recognize the similarities and differences between leaders and leadership. This area is split into four subcategories: Education, Training, Development, and Engagement. Submitted below are ways I incorporate each aspect into my role as instructor, mentor, and advisor.

 

In developing the curriculum, instructing, and revising the IGNITE courses for first-year and transfer students, I have learned to value the wide array of student perspectives when considering leadership. Many of my students (just like the undergraduate version of myself) initially view leaders as those with positional authority and/or a specific title. By forming a class with students who consider themselves non-leaders, we embarked collectively on a journey of self-exploration, societal examination, and identity formation.

 

By incorporating the Social Change Model of Leadership (Astin & Astin, 2000), I guided, then co-led students on their journey discovering their own beliefs and inferences from the media, their peers, family, and home country/ies and how they shaped their specific reactions to individual and group interactions. A copy of my Fall 2015 syllabus is posted on the right. As an artifact of my development as a leader, I submit this document to expose my participation in both my own and my students' leadership development.

 

Cultivating leaders who are able to identify, articulate, and model their specific version of a leader supports my own journey of leadership discovery while providing a foundation for each of my students. I aim to have students self-select their journey and not solely impose my view on them, and have learned that first-year students are eager to define their own version of Truth, playing a meaningful and relevant role in their educational experiences. Together, we find creative and new solutions to problems, and despite teaching this course every semester, I have learned something new and witnessed unique "ah-ha" moments in each class.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upon completion of the Diverse Students on a College Campus and Environmental Theory and Assesment courses, I supplemented my personal and professional approach to engaging with students by examining the more subtle differences in learning styles, the location(s) my students identified as being un/safe or un/welcoming, and creating more of a "call to action" expectation with applying our coursework and observations to our roles as informed and empowered citizens.

 

While there is always room for improvement, my experiences as an instructor only furthered my commitment and ability to engage in meaningful, responsible ways for creating change and empowering others to do the same. In doing so, I have also valued the importance of empowering others to empower others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

 

Astin, A. W., & Astin, H. S. (2000). Leadership reconsidered: Engaging higher education in social change. Kellogg Foundation, Battle Creek, MI.