This year I went on my very first Alternative Break through Central. Needless to say, this trip was AMAZING. On this trip I experienced a week full friendship and growth, and I also gain more perspective of the healthcare system. During the time we served at the VA hospital we were broken into smaller groups that had separate tasks. Some of the tasks included escorting patients, organizing gifts and a Christmas dinner food drive, and helping out in the extended care facility.
Although completing the tasks we volunteered for made an impact, I felt like the largest impact came to the patients when we interacted with them. I was able to thank many brave men and women for serving our country in one of the most sacrificial ways possible. During these interactions I heard stories of WWII and Vietnam, of love and tragedy, of injury and healing, of family and lost ones. It seemed that every time I would sit down to talk with a patient the minutes would turn into hours, and my perspective was broadened greatly.
One of the most captivating stories came from a gentleman who was receiving physical therapy for a knee replacement. He had served in the marines during the Vietnam War. During his tours he gave up four years of his life and still suffers from PTSD from the war time brutality. As I was thanking him for his service he started tearing up and shaking his head. He shared how strange it was that I was thanking him for his service in the war, because he faced such opposition when he returned from the war initially. He shared that he and his troop all had to take off and hide their uniforms before reaching American shores because they would be mobbed by people protesting the war. He explained how he was spat on in public because protestors recognized the military hair cut and boots, even without the uniform. Personally, I was blown away at this story. I have learned in my history classes of the protests of the Vietnam war, but hearing it from a personal perspective gave my previous knowledge much more depth. This patient taught me, unknowingly, a lesson of a life time: Although I may have knowledge, others can teach me much more than I will ever be able to learn on my own, and thus service, collaboration, and perspective gaining are the cornerstones to a successful society.
Ultimately, this trip was filled with stories that left me both laughing, and tearing up. It was filled with learning, as a group and individually. I became more familiar with a the Veteran’s Affairs Health Care System, and what it takes to be a part of this type of facility. I left this trip with more perspective on the world around me, and a refreshment of my drive to become a Physical Therapist at a veteran care facility (with high hope that the facility will be Walter Reed).
At the beginning of this year I decided that I wanted to bond with the underclass men of the Leadership Advancement Scholarship program because I understand the importance of mentorship. I was fortunate enough to have people and opportunities to shape and mentor me during my first year of college, and I thought serving on the trip that jumpstarted it all would be a great place to start! {Click here to read about my experience on this trip in 2015}
First things first: FACILITATION
This trip was mainly focused around the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy(JRLA). We met with students enrolled in their leadership courses of their high school and taught them how to facilitate different leadership activities. We discussed community standards, what it takes to be a leader, and the different types of leadership styles that were used. Through this my role was to use the facilitation skills I’ve learned over my college years to teach the LAS freshman how to facilitate. The LASers then took their new skills to the JRLA high schoolers and taught them. Our goal was to create a living and learning community, which was exactly what happened.
Second step: ServiceThe next day the 45+ LAS students the LEAD team and I were in charge of woke up ready
to serve! We worked with CASS community in different facets of service. Some people worked on recycling, some worked with the soup kitchen, and some worked on making products out of recycled material to sell to the community. We spent a couple of long and laborious hours with this organization and really got to know the community members. We learned that each of the employees were once part of the homeless population of Detroit and all of their stories merged together when they joined CASS community. This organization gave them job, education, and opportunities to give back to the community they came from. Overall, the students in my facilitation group fell in love with the service, mission, and people of CASS.
Third…. was a little bit of fun!
As the LEAD team coordinators we made sure the LAS students had a little fun along with their hard work. We planned a trip to Quicken Loans, where we toured around the facility and were informed of their forward thinking business outlooks. Whether those outlooks included dog-friendly workplaces, basketball hoops, slushy machines, or even colorful paint we learned that the workplace can be a place of fun that cultivates creativity. By the end of the visit we had multiple people scheduling interviews for summer internships with the company. Lastly we were off to the Detroit Institute of Art (DIA). This trip was purely for fun and the LAS students loved spending time with their cohort learning about the importance of art and the culture that surrounds it.
So what?
During this trip all I wanted to do was to be a mentor to the underclassman LASers. Did I accomplish this goal? YES, and so much more. I connected with the students in ways that I could have never imagined, but I also learned so much from them. Their different passions showed through as we served along side of each other and I truly felt like these people were the leaders of today, the ones who were going to change the world in ways no one could have ever imagined. So, yes I was a mentor, a leader, a member of the LEAD team…. but ultimately I was a friend, fellow server, and a step toward a brighter future for Detroit.
“How are you supposed to be the leaders of tomorrow, if you don’t pay attention to your country’s leaders of today?!?”
On the first day of class this was the question proposed to the class by our professor. Its valid. Period. This is something that I’ve been thinking for the past couple of years when I hear adults telling the young men and women of my generation that we need to change the world. How in the world can I do that without understanding a single thing about what is happening in today’s political world? I’ve heard and seen different things on the media, none of which I think American should be proud of and most of which I don’t understand. Luckily, I was enrolled in this class in hopes to sort all of this out and start gaining perspective in order to be an educated, informed, and active member of our society.
Boy, was I wrong…Out of all of the leadership classes, I’d have to say that this has been the least helpful. Although I have learned a few things during this class period, none have been extremely helpful of accomplishing my goals of being informed and active in the world of government. I find myself dreading this class because the learning environment is extremely uncomfortable where I don’t feel as if I can ask question without being scolded or feeling foolish for not knowing the answer in the first place. In addition, I could not tell you what was on the last exam or what is important to know for the next one since the professor lacks clarity. The most disheartening aspect of this entire course is that now more than ever my cohort need a political education that we will not receive in this class. With the upcoming election underway and where voting for candidates is like navigating a minefield, I was in high hopes of answering the question our professor proposed on the first day.
What I have learned… I’m responsible to be responsible. Each class period my professor emphasizes the fact that we are young adult with the responsibility of understanding the political world and to be informed voters. From this class I have gained the perspective that it is my duty to cast my vote, a precious right that countries all over the world fight brutally for daily. This mantra has inspired me to register to vote and ultimately participate in the next election as a responsible leader. Although this course hasn’t provided the information that I would like to be a responsible voter, it has emphasized that I need to vote.
Would I recommend??? Quiet frankly, I would not recommend this course unless the student is a Political Science major or is already highly involved in the political world. To me, I possess neither of these qualities which makes this “introduction” rather difficult for me to follow, comprehend, or feel comfortable learning.
Growing up in today’s day and age the words oppression, racism, privilege, diversity and many more have become second nature. I hear these topics discussed every time I turn on the T.V., at the dinner table with my family, on campus, in class and even in my dorm room. It would be a common thought that I’d have a wealth of knowledge and understanding about these topics since I’m surrounded by them everyday, but thats not the case. Until I enrolled in HDF 110, my understanding of these words and the issues surrounding them was extremely limited and flat out wrong in most cases. I’m not saying that this course was a holy grail of awareness and knowledge, but it was surely a leaping point.
Learning to be comfortable with the uncomfortable…
Although this class was online and I only had to interact with people enrolled in this class three times, I felt uneasy on the first day. This course purposefully brought up all of the current day issues and challenged my previous knowledge about the world around me. For example, privilege. In my current life that word has been treated as a bad one or almost as if it was obscene. Friends and family told me that I wasn’t considered privileged since I came from a blue collared, white, middle class family that works extremely hard to stay ahead. In fact, those criteria listed qualifies me as privileged in one way or another. I also believed that I was not oppressive since I did not participate in oppressive or racial behaviors. Yet again I learned that I was wrong. Just because I didn’t participant in these behaviors did not mean I wasn’t contributing to the issue since I was not advocating against these issues. Needless to say, these instances and many more throughout the class made me uncomfortable to discuss and analyze in my life, yet completely necessary.
Intentional Leadership
This class not only informed me about current issues dealing with oppression, but also gave me applicable ways to utilize the knowledge. I learned that the world is a broken place. I understand that people country to country are oppressed in various ways. I now know I’m a part of that problem. Most importantly I learned that its okay as long as I take what I’ve learned and spread awareness to change it. So what? I am now on the diversity LEAD team at Central Michigan University where I can continue educating not only myself, but everyone that I come in contact with on the topics and issues that are plastered on all forms of media in today’s world.
Many people think of servants as the followers in a group, not the leader. This is not always the case, even though it seems a little contradictory. A servant leader is concerned about their follower’s needs and will foster to those needs in order to build them up. As a servant leader I truly believe that a group is only as strong as the weakest link and that a few acts of service can not only build up the immediate group but also the community around the group. This idea seems a bit vague and the characteristics of being empathetic, committed to the growth of people, aware and receptive to their followers creates a foundation to this leadership style.
As part of the Leader Advancement Scholarship program my protocol requires me to be involed in one Registered Student Organization (RSO). That was easy, I joined the Pre-PT club! I found that I wanted to do so much more than just be a member and this is where the servant leader theory was applied to my life. I volunteered my time at numerous occasions (nursing home, HATS ect.) but I wanted to do something even larger. Therefore, I participated in Relay for Life on the Pre-Physical Therapy club. Together we raised over $800 to fund Relay for Life which will give the money to the many areas of need in the world wide fight to defeat cancer. When the theory of servant leadership is applied to my work at Relay for Life it is easy to see that societal impact and group growth was obtained.
Not only was this a great example of servant leadership, it was a so much fun!!! I heard some amazing survival testimonies, saw fighters with strength unfathomable, and experienced a whole lot of laughter. I will absolutely be participating in this event next year, and I will even be in charge of the Pre-PT’s relay team in 2016. Until next year, I’ll be proudly wearing purple and thinking about my loved ones and the many around the world fighting bravely.
I’ve always been told that social media is a double edge sword. It can be great to promote and connect, but it also hinders social skills and advocates fraud. With this in mind I entered CMU’s Leadership Institute (LI) LeadChat that they hold every Thursday night over Twitter. What happens is that the LI poses a few questions to the “Twittersphere” and anyone is welcome to answer the question and spark further conversation about it. On this particular day the LI posed five questions:
1.) What qualities do you look for in a mentor?
Every mentor/mentee pair is going to be a bit different and each one needs to find what qualities will make their own bond work. For me, I look for someone that will challenge me to step out of my comfort zone. The whole purpose of a mentor is someone to make you grow as a person, challenge you outlooks, and grow more confident in your views. If my mentor did not make me think twice about what I believe then our bond would be useless. To go hand in hand with challenge, a mentor should also provide a great degree of advice. Since my mentor Becky is older than me and has gone through a whole year of college I know that I can always turn to her with questions and the daily confusion that adjusting to college has provided. She always seems to have some wise words, or could at least point me to someone that would know how to help me. In this process my mentor also challenges me to come to my own conclusion before giving me the advice that I have sought. This again makes me lear, which is what college is all about!!!
2.)What are your expectations of your mentee?
.@CMU_Leadership A2: mentoring, like #leadership, is a relational process – if you need something from your mentor, be sure they know that!
The closer and closer that the Mentee draft gets the more and more excited I become. I know that whoever I choose and/ or end up with (depending on how the draft plays out!) will be a great fit because each one of the incoming freshmen loves leadership. This is the only expectation that I want to set for my mentee because I want to be able to see who he or she grows into without my thoughts clouding my view of them. As long as they love leadership, I will love them! Ultimately, I would love a mentee that I can really bond with over various things like athletics, religion, and something as simple as movie choice. My mindset goinging into next year and a mentee/mentor relationship is: expect nothing and appreciate everything.
3.)What is the difference between a mentor and a role model?
So far, this has proven to be true with my mentor. Never has she tried to force herself be a role model, but instead she always has inspired me to be my own person and be a role model for others. As I reflect on all of the mentors and role models throughout my life I realize that there is a vast difference. I hope that when I soon get a mentee (less than 3 days!) that she/he becomes a role model for the future CMU students and young adults all over the world. It would be my pleasure to be able to stand next to him/her as they need help to become a their own person and someone that others can look up for many years to come. Its a forever repeating process to led a helping hand to anyone that needs it so that they can reach their full potential and offer something greater than just themselves to the world.
4.)What communication tools/tactics work best with a mentor/mentee relationship?
COMMUNICATION. COMMUNICATION. COMMUNICATION. That is the key to almost any type of relationship out there, and the Leader Advancement Scholar Mentee/Mentor relationship is no different. The only thing that is different about the communication standard is how often and what type of communication works with each pair. For me, I love face to face conversations and time spent enjoying each others company. I hope that when I get my mentee we’ll be able to have ample amount of time during the week between our busy schedules to see each other. Ultimately, I would love my mentee to be my best friend, someone that I want to spend time with everyday, and someone that I can share everything with. Of course, if my mentor/mentee bond isn’t as close as I want in person I would be more than happy to try different communication tactics such as hanging out in large groups, texting, or even just sitting at the library and doing homework together. Whatever it takes I’ll be there for my mentee!
5.) Who do you look to as a mentor? How have they had an impact on you?
Of course I look up to my true mentor Becky….. but even more so I consider my roommate Meredith Earley as my mentor. We may be the same age and cluelessly wandering through life together, but I know that she has my back. She’d do anything and everything to make my day easier and challenges me to grow every single day, especially in my faith. I love this girl like no other and I know that if I have a crazy passion she will support me until I hit the finish line, no matter how insane the idea sounds. Each day Meredith impacts me with her dreams, goals, and thoughts. She has made me acquire a new outlook on the world and I know that together we can truly make a difference. It may be cheesy to say, but we honestly make a dynamic duo that won’t stop until someone pays attention to what we have to say to the world.
The first stop on our trip was the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy! Before this trip I had never heard of the school but after spending time in the classrooms and interacting with the students, I’ll never forget it. Traveling to the Northwest side of Detroit to seek out this public charter school may not have been the typical way a college student would spend their weekend, but its surely the ideal kind of adventure that I was looking for. This school is dedicated to leadership, academic success, and the growth of their student body, which made it an obvious choice to infiltrate and promote even more future prosperity. So what did a group of college student have to offer to the JRLA students? LEADERSHIP OF COURSE!
“Jalen Rose Leadership Academy will empower all scholars to develop the strength of character, skills, and knowledge needed to matriculate, be great in, and graduate from college so that they have opportunities to be successful in the competitive world and to take care of themselves and the people that they love.”
When our Leader Advancement cohort entered the school we were separated into teams (I was the teal team) and then met up with student from JRLA’s own leadership organizations called ‘The Butta Team’ and ‘The P.I.L.O.T Program.’ These two groups are composed of the elite students in the JRLA system because they show extraordinary leadership inside and outside of the classroom. In order to further their leadership roles in the school our group’s mission was to teach these select students how to facilitate leadership activities in order to grow their leadership skills. Once we had a few Butta and PILOT students assigned to our teal team to observe we entered a classroom and instantly got the group on their feet to get the ball rolling(literally). This first activity we did was a “getting to know each other” game where we threw a beach ball around that had written questions all over it. When one of the students caught it they had to answer one of the questions that their thumb landed on. In addition to that we set some Community Standards for the day of events so that it a safe, unified, and open-sharing environment was created. The next activity I instructed was Gutter Ball. This activity entails students working together to transfer a marble through wooden troughs across the class room. With some strategic front-loading and maneuvering the students got very involved and determined to complete the task. Once completed we brought the group together for a deep debrief of the lessons the students learned from the activity.
For the second half of the day the Central Michigan students regrouped in JRLA’s auditorium to facilitate some more activities as a large group to all of the Butta and PILOT students. These activities included tennis ball relays, pair-and-share tasks to find things that the students had in common, and more activities to familiarize the students with each other’s names. We concluded our stay at Jalen Rose Leadership Academy by “making it rain.” This facilitation is by far my favorite because it incorporates all the student in the whole auditorium to work together with a series of hand movements (rubbing their hands together, snapping their fingers, clapping their hands ext.) in order to make it sound as if its actually raining inside! At the end of the day we bid our farewells and loaded onto the bus to go to our next stop in Detroit.
We soon arrived at Lowe Campbell Ewald which is advertising and marketing company that has multiple headquarters all over the world, including Detroit. Here I toured the building and had the opportunity to see where all of the ‘magic’ happens in the marketing communication’s business. This company is full of curious problem solvers who live for the idea, strive for the unexpected, and never settle for less. During this time I actually saw just how much brainstorming and creativity went into this building to convert it from a old factor to a thriving marketing company. But, who said service and leadership had to be all serious work?
The next few things that Detroit had to offer us were by far the most team building parts of the trip. As a surprise, the trip coordinators set up a special tour of Ford Field.We visited the locker room, interview room, press boxes, and even got to walk the tunnel leading out to Ford Field. After taking what seemed like hundreds of pictures, we wrapped up that visit with some great food at Pizzapopalis. Next on the schedule was stop at the Detroit Institute of Art where we had time to explore and experience at our own pace. By the end of the night we were all exhausted and went to our “home” for the night, which happened to be a office owned by CMU! We all rolled out our sleeping bags and crashed on the floor for the night and attempted to sleep, although not much sleep was to be had in a room full of college kids bonding over anything and everything!
As the morning sun rose so did all of us Leader Advancement Scholars for another day to challenge or limits and make a difference in the city. We headed over to an organizations called Blight Busters who have taken the personal responsibility to clean up the city for everyone. They believe in huge change starting by one person and portray that in a motto they mentioned before our work began, “think globally, act locally.” In order to act locally we picked up our shovels, rakes, and buckets and headed down a few blocks to start spreading mulch on a large open field. Working for a few hours we began to see a slight change which would lay the foundation for many more Blight Buster projects to come after us.
What was the most eye-opening part of the trip? Quite honestly, I didn’t realize how many things opened my eyes about the Great Motor City:
The number one thing that changed my outlook was spending a few hours with the students that go to school in underprivileged neighborhoods. After some really great facilitation activities at JRLA my partner and I took a group of students in the hall way to debrief the activity. As we were starting to make progress and dig deep into ways that they could change their school the lights cut out. Completely cut out! For a few seconds we sat in the dark in silence and then the students informed me that power outages usually happen about once a week and they learn in the dark until the power comes back on. This absolutely blew me away, in my high school electricity was a given and something we never had to worry about, yet at JRLA it was a commodity. It was a bit of a culture shock, yet an amazing reality check for me to be more grateful for the things that I take for granted.
The second thing that also changed my outlook was the time spent at the Detroit Institute of Art where a small group of my friends and I decided to check out the Detroit photography exhibit. Visually my eyes were open to some of the poverty, beauty, and character that the city and its citizens experience daily. In the center of the room I found a booklet of cards that posed the question, “what do you see in Detroit?” I began reading some of the things that people had to say about the Motor City and my heart emotionally changed. The cards varied but the ones written by children really got to me, although some letters were backwards and words misspelled those phrases spoke truth about the city through the eyes of youth. They read, “People are celebrating, I see fireworks” and “The streetlights are coming back on” and “People are sad, they need jobs.” From joy to sadness and everything in-between was wrote in a short phrase by children no older than eight years old. At eight years old I wasn’t worrying about jobs or having streetlights to play under, those things were normal to me. To see testimonies from kids that are aware of social issues at such a young age made my heart break for the city. On the other hand seeing cards about hope, happiness, and change made me excited for the great city to return to its rightful glory!
Last but not least one other thing completely took me by surprise that changed my outlook on the city as a whole. As our group was standing on the corner of an intersection waiting for our bus to arrive we happened to look up to the second story of a casino. Four or five elderly people started waving at us while we yelled some CMU chants. they began fanning their money and valuables at us. This was all fun and games until we heard some beautiful music coming from behind us. A homeless man about 15 ft way was playing his flute and saxophone to get some spare change to live on. In that exact moment we saw the two extremes that Detroit had to offer in its economy. This event is not something that was planned or lasted very long, but the small unexpected things like this that I saw which altered my whole view of Detroit.
Who was a great example of leadership?
Everyone involved in this whole trip exhibited great amounts of leadership at different parts of the journey, whether that be unloading backpacks, people stepping up to facilitate activities, or even someone who gave encouragement. Yet, out of all the people I saw as examples of leadership a little girl that wasn’t even part of our trip definitely showed the most. As we arrived on the scene of Blight Busters so did a girl that nobody knew. She jumped right into work with all of us and didn’t seem to skip a beat. Little did we know that she volunteers every time Blight Busters does work around the city. She doesn’t get paid, none of her friends come with her, and the people who run Blight Busters don’t even know where she lives. Against all odds she shows up ready to clean up the city and make her home a better place. Being eighteen years old I’m not sure that I could stay dedicated to a program that is so demanding in all weather conditions, but a girl many years younger than I can. She is the true definition of leadership and completely blew me away!
Another great example of leadership was the LEAD team who actually planned all of the events on the trip. This LEAD team did an immaculate job preparing from the beginning of the year and even making last minute changes up until the bus departure from Central Michigan University. While in Detroit this team got us to and from each activity, threw in surprises and interacted with each of us volunteers. They went above and beyond all expectations and overall I could not have asked for a better trip or better leaders. (Plus, we even got matching t-shirts!) Thanks LEAD Team!!
How has my opinion of Detroit change?
If I wasn’t hopeful before, I SURE AM NOW!! Seeing the students of Jalen Rose Leadership Academy who had applied and got accepted to large universities like Michigan State and New York City got me excited for the future of Detroit. Hearing of the many students attaining 4.0 GPA’s and athletic success made me ecstatic to see their handwork paying off. Working with Blight Busters and seeing a community honking and waving as they drove by made me hopeful for the future of the Motor City. All of these difference makers and leadership advocated are promoting change in ways that they don’t even realize. This trip took my perspectives of Detroit and completely turned them around. It is not a city of fear and failure, but a city of hope and opportunity.
Now What?Of course the service trip to Detroit was great and life changing, but what am I suppose to do now that I’m in Mount Pleasant?
The poverty rates around Mount Pleasant are substantially higher than I would have ever expected. In 2009, 63.1% of residents were below the poverty line. In all, 96.1% of residents in Mount Pleasant that rent are below the poverty level.
Realistically, I’m not sure what I should do from here on out. I have some ideas popping in my head of places I could go and things that I could do, yet I’m not quite sure how to act on them. The main idea I have is to incorporate my new position of Volunteer Chair on the Executive Board in the Pre-Physical Therapy club and the community of Mount Pleasant. The Pre- Physical Therapy club has quite the abundance of active member, if I could get connected with the Volunteer Center here on campus and with local churches who serve the poor in the community, we could start making a huge change. Using OrgSync and other forms of social media to reach out to all of the Pre-PT members and all of there friends, I could start a weekly or even monthly event to help the community. Although these plans are in the early stages of thought I it would be a great way to unify different clubs, students and the community together.
The second thing that I’d love to get involved with is bringing supplies to the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy students. I know that our Leadership 200 class discussed having a school supplies-drive all year before the annual “LAS in the D” trip and I believe that it’s be a great thing to implement. Much of the school supplies that JRLA students are using comes directly from their teachers who have to take money out of their wages to pay for it. If we could make a small impact to get the JRLA students more/better supplies, we may be able to start making a small academic impact.
Doubt is easy to come by, but confidence is almost never found with as much ease. It seems that the roots of uncertainty can stumbled even a person with a perfect eye for confidence. Clearing the roots of unsureness may be one of the most ambiguous things to do, but wether or not to begin the clearing process is a definitive choice. Seth Godin expands on this thought in his post,‘Confidence is a Choice, Not a Symptom’. Godin found that many people find confidence after they accomplish the task at hand, not during or before the process. Godin refers to this type of boldness as symptomatic confidence because it is something that accompanies success as evidence of the accomplishment. On the other hand Godin talks about effective confidence which is not reliant of outside events and comes from within a person. As I read through this short article I naturally began to reflect from where I pull my confidence. For as long as I can remember my parents have always been my biggest support system, you could even go as far as calling them a fan club. They have never once doubt me or my abilities, although I have probably done that more times than I should have . They show me that I do not need to be successful in order to have confidence, since baby steps are still progress. If I can have pride in every step I take toward a goal then I can have can have confidence in myself since confidence is a choice, not a symptom. I see the pride that my parents have in me and from that I can choose to speak my confidence. Sure, flaws make things interesting, yet the way someone responds to their own flaws is even more fascinating than the actual fault. If a person can respond to their supposed shortcoming with confidence, it is usually found that the aspect that is being criticized isn’t a flaw at all, it is a trait. One of my best and wisest friends once told me that, “my only flaw was thinking that I had many.” If that isn’t a confidence booster, then I don’t know what is!
As a leader I think it is so important to grasp the difference between symptomatic and effective confidence. The quicker the leader understands which one they thrive off of the quicker they can start incorporating the other one. Most people, like me, use symptomatic confidence which is viewed as the weaker of the two types. All great leaders NEED effective confidence in order to really start breaking down barriers, accomplishing tasks, and building relationships. From here on out I’m setting a goal to use effective confidence and supplement it will symptomatic confidence. The way I’m going to accomplish this is by coming into situations with an open mind and remembering that anything I can ‘bring to the table’ is worthwhile. I will also try to rid myself of preconceived notions about the task at hand and my level of ability to complete it adequately because that will only bring me back to my symptomatic ways.
Who is Malala? Better yet, I should ask who is Gul Makai? The answer is simple since they are the same person, but the story behind the two names is anything short of simple.
I came across Malala Yousafzai’s story quite awhile back and have used her as a role model ever since. It 1997 Malala was born in Mingora, Pakistan and grew up in the rather peaceful town, that is until the Taliban came. Shortly there after the Taliban started targeting and attacking schools full of little girls to restrict woman’s right for education. Hundreds of schools were burned down or closed due to the Tabliban, therefore she attended the school that her father founded. As Malala lived through the brutality of the Taliban’s actions she decided to start secretly blogging under the fake name of Gul Makai about growing up in a threatening world that denied her education. Soon there after Malala revealed herself and the Taliban promptly made her an enemy target. Athough Malala was fearful and concerned for her family’s safety she continued to go to school and was proud to be a women’s right activist at age nine. On an average day the school bus that Malala was riding was stopped and a Taliban soldier fired three bullets in the attempt to kill the 15 year old. The bullet fired at her in pointblank range miraculously traveled down through her neck instead of her head, saving her life for the time being. She fought through infection and now rehabilitation in order to continue to pursue her education and dream of becoming a doctor.
Malala’s leadership began so young, and she became such a leader because she intensely followed her passion of women’s rights and education. At the age of nine it was easy for Malala to see that the treatment that her gender was receiving was dehumanizing and wrong. It seems like such a natural right for women to be educated for many people, including myself. People who know of her story and hear her words cannot but help become an advocate for the young woman’s cause. I admire so many things about Malala’s leadership, especially her bravery, persistence and genuine personality. Against all odds Malala continued to fight for what she believed was right and never gave in. She is more than willing to lay down her life in order to change the world one school at a time. For me, I see Malala as a true inspiration. A girl almost precisely one year younger than me has had an ever lasting impact on the world around her. Seeing how much she has accomplished and continues to accomplish makes me realize that I, as a leader, can continually make an impact if I pour my effort into it. Malala not only advocated for women’s rights and educations, but also shows me and her other followers that no matter what age, gender, ethnicity or background a person comes from, they ALWAYS have something to offer to the world.
I aspire to be like Malala. She lives life fearlessly, with a great purpose. Every speech she gives and every award she receives in nothing in comparison to message that she carries. I hope that one day I can be an influence to not only the people around me, but the many people to come after me. I hope that one day starts today.
“There was a time when women activist asked men to stand up for their rights. But this time we will do it ourselves.” ~Malala Yousafzai
The Central Michigan University difference is hard to explain to a person that doesn’t attend this wonderful institution, but there are plenty of examples of it every day around campus. One perfect example of this is when I had the opportunity to meet with the actual president of CMU. President Ross took time out of his day to meet the new Leadership Advancement Scholar cohort, and I am so thankful to be one of those 44 students to meet him. At most colleges a student would be lucky to be in the same room as the president of the university, let alone actually meeting him.
I started developing a real connection with Ross when he began telling us about his childhood, his upbringing, and his journey along the way to his success. Little did I know that the wisdom filled man in a snappy suit in front of me grew up on a farm in Missouri. He had many siblings and his family was so poor. President Ross was the underdog in life, yet he made it to the top, at one of the greatest institution in the country. Exactly how President Ross made it was one of the most inspiring stories of all. He worked small end jobs, went to college whenever possible, and kept an optimistic outlook on life. President Ross ended up at Michigan State University to study accounting and was success. He was hired at Central, and began slowly working is way up the ladder until he obtained presidential status. The story in and of itself was amazing to hear, but the lessons that Ross drew from it and passed on to us made the biggest impact of all. He stressed the fact that we CAN really do anything that we dream of if we are willing to work out tails off for it. President Ross also emphasized the fact that we need seize every opportunity presented to us because some of the most wonderful things in life come from surprises.
President Ross takes time to virtually meet with a student that could not attend the meeting.
In the second portion of meeting President Ross we were allowed to ask him questions. He made a personal connection with each one of us that asked a question since he required us to tell him our major, where we were from, and of course, our names. Most of the questions revolved around what we could do to better help lead or better CMU entirely. President Ross gave some great advice to never give up, keep trying to better yourself, make connections along the way, and have fun.
All in all it was amazing to have a person of such high status that wanted to come and meet a group of freshmen. From the experience I learned that dreaming big is the best thing that you can do for yourself, always take ahold of opportunities that present themselves, take time to truly meet people along the way, and never give up, even in the worst of times.
This year I went on my very first Alternative Break through Central. Needless to say, this trip was AMAZING. On this trip I experienced a week full friendship and growth, and I also gain more perspective of the healthcare system. During the time we served at the VA hospital we were broken into smaller groups that had separate tasks. Some of the tasks included escorting patients, organizing gifts and a Christmas dinner food drive, and helping out in the extended care facility.
The next day the 45+ LAS students the LEAD team and I were in charge of woke up ready
Boy, was I wrong…Out of all of the leadership classes, I’d have to say that this has been the least helpful. Although I have learned a few things during this class period, none have been extremely helpful of accomplishing my goals of being informed and active in the world of government. I find myself dreading this class because the learning environment is extremely uncomfortable where I don’t feel as if I can ask question without being scolded or feeling foolish for not knowing the answer in the first place. In addition, I could not tell you what was on the last exam or what is important to know for the next one since the professor lacks clarity. The most disheartening aspect of this entire course is that now more than ever my cohort need a political education that we will not receive in this class. With the upcoming election underway and where voting for candidates is like navigating a minefield, I was in high hopes of answering the question our professor proposed on the first day.
Learning to be comfortable with the uncomfortable… 
Of course I look up to my true mentor Becky….. but even more so I consider my roommate Meredith Earley as my mentor. We may be the same age and cluelessly wandering through life together, but I know that she has my back. She’d do anything and everything to make my day easier and challenges me to grow every single day, especially in my faith. I love this girl like no other and I know that if I have a crazy passion she will support me until I hit the finish line, no matter how insane the idea sounds. Each day Meredith impacts me with her dreams, goals, and thoughts. She has made me acquire a new outlook on the world and I know that together we can truly make a difference. It may be cheesy to say, but we honestly make a dynamic duo that won’t stop until someone pays attention to what we have to say to the world.
t an amazing reality check for me to be more grateful for the things that I take for granted.
McKenna Mathis 