LeaderShape Reshaped Me
The Moore School of Business is a very generous college. I have been very fortunate to reap the benefits of being a business student at USC. This year the Moore School selected a handful of students to be part of the Moore School Emerging Leaders Program. It was a pleasant surprise when I read the email informing me I had been selected. After reading the email, I had to fill out a profile about how I believed I acted as a leader and I had to have two other people fill out a profile about how they perceived me to be as a leader. After the results were processed by one of the academic advisors, I learned that most people view me as sometone who searches for opportunities to take risks and also fosters collaboration among others.
The advisor also hosted a "mini conference" about leadership and its role at USC and in our organizations. This seminar enabled us to share our insights and learn more about our personal leadership styles. I learned that I enjoy a very participative leadership style and use my charisma to positively impact groups and goals. My favorite quote from the lecture was by the authors Kouzes and Posner. It state "leadership is the act of mobilizing others to want to struggle for shared aspirations."
As an Emerging Leader and a rising senior, I had the opportunity to travel to Champaign, Illinois to attend the LeaderShape Institute for six days last month. You're probably thinking, "how fun can a leadership conference during your summer really be?" Well let me tell you, this was the most life-changing and impactful six days I've probably ever experienced. The Institute had 58 students from universities and colleges across the country who wanted to learn how to lead with integrity. It was such a diverse group of students based on background, religion, experiences, organizations, and visions.
It is hard to express in words how much of an effect this week had on me, so I will just tell you what we did. Every single day was jam packed with learning. We met as a learning community to watch clips from movies and videos, we talked about our roles as leaders in our organizations and played games that reflected opportunities to show our integrity. We spent our free time bonding with one another through deep conversations and playing games such as Jenga, Egyptian War and logic games. We wrote encouraging notes to one another throughout the week and placed the notes in one another's hand designed brown bags. In our family clusters of 12 people and headed by a facilitator we discussed our passions and our vision for our school, community or the world. This group of people saw me laugh, smile and cry. They were such a supportive group of people who truly wanted to see me succeed with my vision.
The Institute made me realize that there are so many other people my age that want to cause great things to happen. It was a very motivational experience and I loved being given the opportunity to attend LeaderShape.
My recommendation for each of you is to come to college and seek out every opportunity you can to learn about yourself and others. For me, I was very fortunate that LeaderShape found me. Stay positive, work hard, and great things will happen! Let's go Gamecocks!