Highlights from ELP 6520 and the Leadership Expo

This is who we are: 

the future leaders in higher education

Our class on the first night, we're a very colorful group are we not?

This is a photo of most of us with Barb Snyder.
She came and spoke to us about her role as U of U Vice President and what leadership means to her.

*What I learned from Barb Snyder is that it is possible to rise to a prominent leadership position in higher education and still have a family. I know that this sounds random, but so many female leaders have come and spoken to our class during our 16 weeks, but none of them have really addressed the challenges of being a high-profile leader and being a mother. I was so excited when she brought it up that I had to ask her privately how she pursued her PhD immediately after having her daughter (seriously, she decided to get her PhD while she was on maternity leave). She said having a supportive husband is what made it all possible. I don't feel like I have to choose one over the other anymore because she has demonstrated that you can have both and be good in both areas.

She also helped me understand that I shouldn't pigeon-hole myself and only settle for one type of opportunity. Part of me wonders how much of her presentation inspired my switch from the U over to Westminster. All I know is that following her presentation, I felt more courageous and more inspired as I made potential career/education choices.

This is what we do: practice being leaders

Group Project: Profiling Leaders on Campus

Brainstorming session, who did we want to profile as a leader on campus? Naturally, I suggested Tom Hurtado since he is so awesome and a true leader in my eyes. Lucky for me, everyone was on board with my suggestion.

Joan, Erica, myself, and Colton.
Joan had asked Tom what he thought leadership tasted like, and he said Lemon Cake, therefore as part of our presentation we included lemon cupcakes (Joan is amazing at whipping up homemade treats!)

*What did this project teach me?

I learned that good leaders own their actions, they don't make excuses. Ever since Tom told us to own our actions, I own up to all my mistakes. I ask so many questions to clarify expectations before I make a decision, but I know how to defend my choices.

Everyone brings not only different strengths to a group dynamic, but different perspectives. What I think is insightful might be completely different from what Colton or Erica think, or even Joan. We all pick up on different things for different reasons, and recognizing those differences make us a stronger team.

 Leadership Expo: Final Project

My leadership puzzle; left side 'What is Leadership?' (theory); and the right side 'Who am I as a leader?' (practice)
Each piece had a visual or textual representation of leadership, as well as three different colors of acrylic paint.
I received a lot of positive feedback on how I chose to display the pieces, as well as how creative the overall idea was.

One of my favorite pieces: 

"Being positive in a negative situation is not naive, it's LEADERSHIP."

*This class taught me many things, but one of the most important lessons I learned was how to combine resourcefulness, creativity, and make an incredibly general concept relatable to everyone. My parents attended the expo and asked me to explain my project, which I did several times throughout the evening. I explained it to persons whose education ended after high school, community college, a bachelor's degree, and master's degrees, and they all made sense of my content in one way or another because at least one puzzle piece resonated with them.

Life certainly doesn't work out the way you plan for sometimes, but a great leader overcomes those obstacles and still manages to move forward in various ways. There is no one right way to be a leader, we are all different, and we are all amazing.