Legal Volunteer: Building One Community
Community Service
December 2020 – January 2021
As a legal volunteer for Building One Community, I had the opportunity to learn from the head litigator at the non-profit, as well as volunteers, a lot about our judicial system and how it is conducted. While volunteering, I conducted legal research on immigration laws in order to aid lawyers in working with their clients, organized and drafted legal documents alongside lawyers to help in expediting the process of legalization or obtaining a green card, and developed organization and communication skills while allowing me to become a stronger writing. I was able to grow tremendously as an individual and take on new tasks to help me become more responsible and confident in my abilities.
Reflection:
In the program, I was tasked with providing aid towards the lawyers and volunteers in aiding them in drafting legal documents, conducting research on the various topics they needed information on, and other small tasks that were required of me. I worked here for a month and provided as much aid as I possibly could towards the organization. This program increased my knowledge of leadership through the way in which the lawyers and other volunteers conducted themselves and treated one another. Each individual on the legal team had an important role in the process, and between each member, there did not seem to be such a strict hierarchy of individuals. Instead, the lawyers would work with the volunteers, guided by the head attorney, in a respectful manner. Even when dealing with me, I did not feel as though I was being managed, but rather was an essential part of the team. I think this taught me the importance of enabling followers and providing them the treatment that they deserve, as giving them respect can boost the entire team greatly. This changed my view of leadership because in traditional leadership, there seems to be always someone on top of another person. In this case though, it seemed as though everyone was a leader in their own way, providing information, aid and expertise in their own fashion. Even though there was a technical “power structure,” everyone was interested on hearing from everyone and taking a democratic process towards the best possible solution. Ultimately, it taught me that leadership comes in various forms, and providing followers with the opportunities to lead can boost the confidence of a team. One key thing I took away from the program was the amount of effort each individual provided. Everyone was beyond motivated to create change that they were always working towards this goal. It made me realize the importance of being passionate about your work and having respect for the work you do.
Representative: Commission on Prevention of Sexual Assault
Campus Service
August 2020 – December 2020
As a representative of the Commission on Prevention of Sexual Assault, I was given the task to communicate with fellow representatives on methods, requirements and potential protocols for organizations and clubs at American University, in regards to sexual assault prevention. As we discussed our thoughts, ideas, and plans, we all worked towards drafting and publishing a document that provided potential steps and recommendations for the American University administration towards the protecting students against sexual assault. In being apart of this commission, I was able to refine my leadership abilities, while also improving my communication and reasoning skills.
Reflection:
This program was based around the sexual assault that had been exposed during the summer of 2020. In response, an AUSG Senator assembled numerous individuals from different organizations to spearhead a commission that worked to prevent further sexual assault. In the program, we would discuss with each other different topics surrounding sexual assault at AU, and then compile ideas and methods of handling the specific issue. The result of the program was a document that gave recommendations to the AU administration of steps they should take in limiting sexual assault. This program increased my knowledge of leadership by teaching me different ways in which people choose to lead and the effectiveness of those methods. In the commission, there were different representatives of different background, meaning that everyone did not have the same leadership method as the next. Some were more democratic, some were more translational, and some were purely straight to the point about their opinions and views. This helped me to recognize and analyze the different styles of leadership and understand how to properly work with these individual’s leadership styles to properly meet the end goal. This changed my view of leadership because it made me recognize the fact that not all followers are going to follow the leader, even if there is a mutual goal. It is important to learn about each individual followers goals for the team, and use this information to allow them to succeed and achieve their goals. In doing so, there will be an effective result that forms from this leadership. One key take away from this program was the importance of rising up against wrongdoing and supporting individuals who have been neglected or mistreated. It is important to also stand up for what you believe in and use this motivation towards changing the world for the better.
Chapter President: Phi Sigma Kappa
Campus Service
January 2020 – December 2020
As the President of my fraternity, I had to handle a lot of the administrative work and act as a leader for the rest of my brothers. During my time as President, I was able to manage the fraternity and ensure that each aspects of our chapter were functioning proper. Additionally, I ensured that my executive board members and other brothers in the chapter were meeting the deadlines set out for the work they had done for the chapter. One of the accomplishments that of my time as President is my ability to help the chapter raise over $10,000 for the organizations Homes for Our Troops and Dreams for Kids DC. During this experience, I was able to learn and challenge my leadership abilities, making me a well-rounded leader, and I was able to improve my reasoning and communication skills.
Reflection:
In this program, I was tasked with being the leader of my local chapter and working towards the goal of managing the different mechanisms of this chapter. In accomplishing this, I had to work with my executive board to discuss the different goals we wanted to achieve, the different projects we wanted to accomplish, and the different problems that we might face. Additionally, I was tasked with ensuring that deadlines were met and that chapter members were upholding the values of the grand chapter. This program increased my knowledge because it taught me the importance of being an adaptive leader, while also being democratic. There were many tough moments were important decisions had to be made, and understanding the decisions that would provide the best outcome wasn’t easy. This helped to learn to be adaptive to the problems that my organization faced, always understanding the alternatives to a problem or decision and using the alternative when necessary. Additionally, by allowing my followers to be apart of major decisions and provide input on a problem, it made it easier to come to the best decision. This programed changed my view of leadership by teaching me the importance of being decisive. As a leader, while it is important to listen to your followers and understand the importance of their opinions, there is also the challenge of making decisions and being confident in those decisions. At first, it was hard to make decisions because of the uncertainty of them, however, as I became more comfortable in the role and more confident in myself, being decisive made it extremely easier to operate the organization. One key take away from the program was that leading is not easy by any measure and that the right decision won’t always be made, but the importance of leadership is to continue pushing and to never lose faith in your ability to lead. Leading always has ups and downs, but it’s the ability for a leader to bounce back that defines a leaders true capabilities.
Core Leader: Introduction to Physics
Campus Service
September 2019 – December 2019
During my experience as a core leader of the introduction to physics course, I was able to demonstrate my leadership abilities through my ability to guide the students through the course. In my room, I assisted with class lectures, alongside the professor, in order to enable the students to learn the curriculum of the course. In particular, I would answer the questions of students, host office hours to provide these students with help on the course work, and contribute to the discussions in the course to provide clarity of the topics. This position allowed me to extend my leadership abilities, communication skills, and my teaching abilities, which will translate into other positions for the future.
Reflection:
In this program, I was tasked with being the teaching assistant/core leader for a introduction to physics course. I was asked to provide any aid to the professor during the class, whether that be with any materials or items she needed. Additionally, I was given the opportunity to teach the class certain material and explain to them the importance of the material that I was teaching. Finally, I worked as the leader for the students by providing them with the aid they needed to do well in the course, whether that was through study sessions or personal one-on-one work. This program increased my knowledge of leadership by teaching me the importance being a reliable leader. The course was definitely not easy, so a lot of students would seek my help in order to understand the material better. As a result, I needed to be a dependable leader by ensuring I knew the material well and someone that could relay this information back to the students. In turn, it helped me realize the importance of being reliable and ensuring that your followers can go to you for help. This program changed my view of leadership by teaching me the importance of delegation. In attempting to create the best possible learning environment, I was tasked with doing private work or helping teach the class. In doing so, we were able to properly teach the material and spark the interest of the students. This taught me the importance of spreading out responsibility and relying on others to create the best possible outcome. One take away from this program is that teaching is tough and that teaching other individuals requires the necessary patience to work with them. In leadership, this same patience is required to properly educate and teach followers about certain things, so having this patience towards life and the people we meet in the future is vital.