leadership coursework.
LEAD 1000
BECOMING A LEADER
Unsurprisingly, LEAD1000 sets the foundation and framework for the leadership coursework and prepares students to exercise their leadership in multiple facets of life from school, work and their communities. It introduces key leadership theories and places an emphasis on self-reflection as we began to write our leadership autobiography and form a leadership development plan for the next four years. It was so interesting to see how even though I hadn't looked at the plan since freshman year, I followed a large majority of the plan and even ended with a job offer into business consulting after graduation. It introduced me to leadership theory and added a framework to organize my pre-existing thoughts about leadership as well as continue to develop my own leadership philosophy.
Renewing Democracy in Schools was one of the most unique classes I've ever taken. Working with 7th grade Public Achievement students at Casey Middle School was so humbling and inspiring. It was amazing to work with young voices who are so passionate about solving some of the world's most wicked problems. My team worked to address structural racism at Casey. While I was unable to stay with them for their project the following semester, I helped set the groundwork for the exploration into the topic in order to build out a mission statement to carry them through in the spring.
EDUC2919
RENEWING DEMOCRACY IN SCHOOLS
COMM
1600
GROUP INTERACTION
Change never happens as an individual endeavor. It takes a village, and COMM1600 explores the complex dynamics that are built within a group. It works to develop communication skills to optimize group effectiveness and practice group communication skills through an innovative group project and online simulation. We focused on topics such as group development & socialization, decision making, conflict management, difference & diversity, planning & coordination, leadership & management, and ethics. There is also an emphasis on identity theory and role salience and how our individual identities influences group dynamics.
Every society around the world faces fundamental challenges around defining basic values, allocating scarce resources and resolving conflicts. Introduction to Comparative Politics focuses on the study of democracy and invites students to explore some of the world's toughest issues and examine how politics plays a role in decision making. For example, in my two short papers I explored the questions: why do some countries legalize same-sex marriage while others do not and what influences a country having a dictatorship arise from a democracy? In both these papers, I examine a topic through multiple lenses to examine how individuals and systems work to create the realities of different countries.
PSCI
2012
INTRO TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS
LEAD
4000
LEADERSHIP CAPSTONE
LEAD4000 culminates theory and practice and allows students to reflect on their Leadership Studies experiences. The main project asks students to collaborate in a team to examine a "Wicked" problem through shadowing an organization's leadership impacts. My group examined mental health in youth and shadowed the Lafayette Youth Advisory Commission. We worked on a mural that was being painted on the side of Eats & Sweets on Main Street which is meant to open up the conversation and break the stigma around talking about mental health. Finally, we are asked to reflect on how we will carry our leadership skills forward into the world outside of the classroom.