Jenna L

I found this unit to be very interesting and worthwhile. Actually researching and getting real life feedback and advice from members of our communities in small businesses, local politics, and local community service organizations was beneficial to my leadership studies. Whether it was from interviewing the site manager of Jumpstart; a nonprofit organizaiton, to listening to the classes guest speaker Vice President of Student Affairs at URI, Dr. Thomas Dougan I learned so much. 

My favorite part of this unit was interviewing the site manager of Jumpstart, Cat Cutlip and presenting what I learned to the class. Something that really stood out to me was Cat's advice to future leaders of America "do not ask other people things that you would not be willing to do yourself." I think this piece of advice could apply to any situation in which one is a leader. I will keep this piece of advice with me as I move forward in college and throughout my career one day. I feel as though this unit was greatly structured and I would not change anything about it if I could.

My TypeFocus continues to be correct while in relation to this unit of leadership in small businesses, local politics, and local community service organizations. My TypeFocus told me that I pay attention to details, as well as value a realistic approach to problem solving. I could relate this to my interview with Cat for I payed close attention to all the details that she presented to me in my interview, I also dug deeper into the questions for further details regarding her leadership values. 

UNIT III: LEADERSHIP ISSUES IN EDUCATION 

I found this unit of leadership issues in education to be very informative and educational. We started off this unit with a timeline activity on historic and important educational events. I was assigned to find out some basic facts about Harvard College, the first institution of higher education in the U.S. Harvard was the first fact one on the timeline, being founded in 1636. As a class we worked together to complete the timeline, working off each other if we were not sure about where to place certain events or places on the timeline. This was a great start to the unit of leadership issues in education. Not only was it a fun activity, but I learned a lot of facts about education that I had not previously known. 

The next part of the unit was guest speaker, Dr. Tom Dougan, Vice President of Student Affairs, here at the University of Rhode Island. He talked to us about his background and experiences that he has had throughout his life, all connecting to the importance of being involved (student affairs). He was a great speaker, for I learned so much from him and he kept the class very interested the whole presentation! I would say that this part of the unit was my favorite part for I found it very beneficial to our class and perhaps what I would like to one day make a career. Although I did really enjoy the admissions challenge assignment that we completed in a group. I found this assignment to be enjoyable and it really challenged the students to be interactive and think! 

I do not feel that anything could be improved, for the unit was great how it was! I learned the importance of education in the United States and for every individual. I understand that it is important to be involved in your school and community to benefit yourself and your future. While I did my presentation on the pro's of homeschooling, I learned so much that I had not previously known, also by listening to my classmates presentations on other various leadership issues in education.

According to my Strengths Finder, one of my signature themes and strengths is positivity. This relates to this unit for I chose to cover the topic of the pro's of homeschooling and convince my classmates that it is more beneficial than public school settings. Most people do not care and or feel that homeschooling is even realistic, I chose this topic to challenge myself and to inform the class on the positive side of the topic, rather than the negatives. My strengths finder tells me that throughout positivity I like to make things more interesting and provide high energy in all that I do. I feel that I made the topic of homeschooling as interesting as possibly, and maybe even persuaded some of my classmates this as well! 

UNIT IV: FAMILY LEADERSHIP

I really enjoyed this family leadership unit, for when I think of leadership, family is not the first thing to come to my mind. Although after being introduced to this unit I now have a full understanding that every family has a leadership aspect. Each family has various leadership styles and different kinds of leader(s) within the family. I feel as though this unit gave the class a new outlook on how leadership applies to almost every aspect of our lives. 

I thought the three guest speakers that came to class to talk and reflect on their own personal family leadership was very eye-opening and beneficial. This panel of guest speakers were nice enough to tell a class of students some personal details about their families. I felt as though they did an excellent job at informing the class about their families leadership styles, and various tasks. Although each guest speaker had their own unique story, they all had the common take home message that I will remember: communication is a very important aspect of leadership in families and is needed for anything to be successful and completed. I have had Karoline Lopes as a teacher and adore her style of teaching and the way she leads her class. Every student respected her and always gave her their full attention. I feel as though the way she set the tone of the classroom and lead the students is why the class always flowed so nicely. My favorite part of this unit was definitely the guest speakers. While it was different and informational to hear other adults personal family leadership styles and techniques. 

I do not think that anything about this unit needs to be changed. This unit brought the class closer as a whole, for everyone was volunteering to share different facts, traditions, and rules of their own families. We all learned new things about each other, that also broadened our horizons on the diversity and leadership that each individual family posses.  According to my Strengths Finder, one of my strengths is input. I feel as though during this unit I shared and inputted my personal family traditions and values. I also listened and collected my classmates families traditions and values which is a part of the input strength. 

I felt as though this unit on the workplace regarding inclusion was very informational and gave me a new outlook on the workplace. Although I knew that there were always leaders in the work place, I never really thought about the problems or legal issues that happen behind the scenes. Although while completing this unit after being introduced to the topic, hearing, and learning from the guest speak Aprylle Wallace, and completing case studies and synthesis charts I have a full understanding of the leadership in the workplace regarding inclusion. 

The guest speaker Aprylle Wallace, PHR, Human Resources Manager at Metalor Technologies Americas was the guest speaker for this unit. Aprylle was a fantastic guest speaker who immediately grabbed the attention of the students in the room the second she began to speak. Her confident presentation was more of a open conversation than a rehearsed speech. She explained to the class real life experiences, issues, and problems that she has to deal with as human resource manager in the workplace. This helped the class to realize what can really happen in a work place. This was my favorite part of the unit, for Aprylle did a great job and taught the class so much information on leadership in the workplace regarding inclusion in a fun, intriguing way. I took home the message of how important and crucial communication is in the workplace. 

I do not feel as though anything in this unit needs to be improved for it did a great job applying real life situations or scenarios with the knowledge that we learned. Through case studies, papers, the guest speakers, class room studies, and the synthesis chart I learned so much information about leadership in the workplace regarding inclusion. My Type Focus has informed me that I often pay attention to close detail and have a realistic approach to problem solving. I applied my type focus abilities during the case study activities in class. I loved participating in the case studies, for my realistic approach to problem solving and my close attention to detail was essential in helping to come to a conclusion as a group of "consultants."