At the start of the school year 2016-2017, I undertook a mission to improve my leadership capabilities as much as possible, especially through the many opportunities offered throughout the year by UT’s Leadership and Ethics Institute.
To that effect, I have attended individual seminars, such as one at the start of the fall semester that (besides offering snacks and prizes during a mini carnival) detailed all of the other opportunities to come. From there, I began researching and applying to every other possible. While I have yet to attend the Texas Leadership Summit, I have every intention of doing so next year.
I did, however, get accepted to The CHANGE Institute–an intensive weekend-long program designed to develop effective and inclusive future leaders. The weekend involved listening to various guest lecturers, completing a lengthy booklet with readings and self-awareness tasks, and discussing various touchy subjects with peers. It was a wonderful way to get the perspectives of some minority viewpoints that I might not have understood otherwise, as well as practice effective communication (such as by learning the difference between dialogue and debate, and the importance of the former).
Through my involvement with NRHH, I was later given the opportunity to apply to be one of the very first in the Leadership Coaching program. Once accepted, I had to take a StrengthsFinder assessment and attend three hour-long sessions (one per month). This was designed to help me become aware of my inner talents and how to capitalize on them to become a more effective leader, as well as how to relate to others who have differing or conflicting main leadership traits.
Besides less officially titled leadership positions, I also attended Leadership Week (aka Leadership Conference) just before the Fall 2016 semester started. This was a very intensive five day conference; with keynote speaker Harlan Cohen, a plenitude of other guest speakers, various breakaway seminars, info sessions about the Division of Housing and Food Service services, and so much more designed to make me aware of what UT offers me. The final two days of the week culminated in volunteering for ten hours as an Elevator Assistant (answering questions, loading elevators, managing lines, directing traffic, etc) to help the hectic “Mooov-In” effort of welcoming students to or back to campus.
On March 25, 2017 from 11am-6pm and from 12pm-5:30pm the next day, I attended the intensive Global Professional Training conference focused on Mexico City–the first of its kind at UT. Below is the itinerary.
I learned an immense amount about both Mexico and business; not only from the speakers but from the breakout sessions, the time given to network with professionals from industries around the world, and my fellow students attending the conference–as many of them were international students. The keynote speakers dispelled many of the myths we are taught about Mexico, and then went through all the tips and tricks they knew for an American to survive and thrive in a Mexican business. After filling an entire booklet with notes and collecting plenty of phone numbers, I feel infinitely more prepared for my coming internship in Mexico City and reflect with fondness on all parts of the conference (especially the incredible local food).
I had thought there were no more leadership programs at UT left for me to go through (with the exception of the Texas Leadership Summit). To my surprise then, I was nominated for the Texas Leaders Conference 2017, a “prestigious student-run leadership development program” that works with the esteemed Chancellor McRaven’s American Leadership Program, the School of Undergraduate Studies, and the Texas Exes to “bring UT’s top leaders together to learn from some of Texas’s most well-respected leaders, network with each other, and grow from innovative, personalized leadership training.” I can’t wait to listen to our speakers: including the Head of Business Operations for Google Fiber in Austin, Senior Program Manager at Indeed.com, and a general who was Chief of Public Affairs. This will take place from 10:00am-3:00pm on April 29th.
Looking back at this now in the spring of 2018, I’m so grateful that I took these opportunities. Not only was I getting my money’s worth out of my education, but these lessons helped me to better manage my time studying abroad for half a year. During that time I was in a foreign country for the first time, alone, struggling to adapt to the language/culture/education system/everything; and knowing how to be an effective leader helped me lead both myself and those abroad with me to meet our goals there. Moreover, during a national crisis situation, I was prepared to turn the tragedy into a learning experience in a manner I doubt I could have handled before attending all these conferences and the like. Which, by the way: I did attend the Texas Leadership Summit, on February 10th, 2018. The networking was educational, our keynote speaker Kevin Lilly inspiring while grounding, and a breakout session to learn about entrepreneurship full of stellar tips. See the program here.
Leadership, however, is of course not just found in meetings full of like-minded people. Indeed, one of the things at UT that most crafted me into an effective leader was The Burnt Orange Society. Over 2 years after I began trying to earn the legendary orange jacket, I succeeded in the program’s very last semester of availability. It was an intensive, self-led exploration of the opportunities at UT: through civic engagement, creativity and the arts, global perspectives, innovation and research, Longhorn pride, professional development, self awareness, and wellness. Through this journey I had to complete 50 service hours, attend legislative meetings, conduct interviews, intern abroad, and much more. This coalescence of learning opportunities provided an incredibly well-rounded university experience and sent me to dozens of amazing events I would not have otherwise attended.
A less intensive version of the BOS was The Longhorn Way, which I completed within my first year at UT. This was a similar path in which to earn credit I had to branch out more than I was initially comfortable with, such as by joining a FIG (first-year interest group) of fellow electrical engineers (we called ourselves the Code Breakers) and attending guest lectures and career fairs with them.