Individual Leadership Action Project
2nd Update (05/01/2021):
As the semester end approaches, I have had the opportunity to reflect on my leadership project for this year (2020-2021), as well as what I have learned in the SPA-362 class itself too. As I think back to my goals when I first had the idea in August, and now reflecting on where I am, I realize that I have definitely changed in different ways as a leader and my understanding of myself and how I want to approach situations moving forward. For the future, I have identified a number of lessons, beyond the ones listed from the 1st reflection update, that I wish to remember in this reflection:
- New ideas take time: For my social action project, I had to pivot to a social media campaign for the outreach part of it since due to being virtual, working with other organizations or schools posed difficulties. At first, I found myself being nervous to do the switch, especially as it was not what I originally had in mind. However, after I made the switch, I felt more motivated about my project again, and wish that I had been confident in making that decision and leap of faith to move outreach in a new direction at an earlier point. I’ve always understood the importance of adapting, but in situations like this, when time is also to be considered, I’ve understood how important it is to keep time as a factor too because adapting and letting new ideas develop and take shape can take time.
- Be decisive and trust yourself: Over the implementation phase, from choosing which cultures to focus on first to choosing a website creation platform, I had to make multiple decisions. Some times, these decisions were simple and quick, but other times, I felt conflicted, such as deciding which cultures to focus on at first, and felt bad that I had to choose and have such limited resources in comparison to all there is to learn about each culture since I was the sole person putting the website together. However, I realized that decision-making is rooted in trust, and I had to acknowledge that I had limited time and resources and know that this was a site in progress, not a final product. I consistently reminded myself of this so I could build trust in myself and in the process. I hope for future decisions, I can continue to support the internal trust as I make external decisions.
1st Update (03/01/2021):
This year, although by name I was a student of American University in Washington, DC, my education took place in California. Due to the pandemic, I have received the chance to work and study from home, and as so, I realized that this could be a pivotal way for me to apply the skills and values I developed as a leader my freshman year in the SPA Leadership Program in the community I grew up in through my second-year social action project.
My project revolves around the limited curriculum content available to students in the Bay Area regarding diversity. Most texts tend to be solely American or Eurocentric, with little to no exposure to other cultures around the world. Noticing this, I wanted to create an online platform that allows students and adults alike to be able to access, understand, and integrate knowledge regarding cultures and communities around the world to build more empathy and greater acceptance for different cultures.
While working on this project, I learned many things about my community as well as myself as a leader. I outline them as followed in terms of goals I have moving forward and lessons I carry with me from the experience so far:
- Be bold: Being a leader means sometimes doing things that might be new. Outreach to schools and organizations regarding a platform I made can be daunting, especially when communities may not respond as positively to it, but I am willing to embrace that risk so I can allow my project to garner more notice and help create an impact in the lives of others.
- Think innovation, not just an invention: This website idea is not a completely new idea, and the versions I create will undoubtedly have flaws. However, what is important is that I can make continual improvements and work on what I have to shape it more finely, instead of trying to create something unheard of before.
- Reflect: As a leader, it is important to always reflect on the process. Every few weeks, I make sure to set aside to reflect on my goals for this project and understand if any changes need to be made to those based on a change of priorities.
- Optimism is motivation: For me to remain motivated and dedicated to this project, I must maintain my passion for it with optimism. This is a topic I am extremely interested in, and I hope I can continue to move forward with this same energy.