Student Spotlight: Olivia, Leadership Institute
What are your biggest takeaways from the week?
My biggest takeaway from this week has simply been how to become a better leader. After attending Professor Sanderlin’s lectures and hearing from so many impressive speakers, I have reflected and determined that it really boils down to 3 major tools:
- Learn from your experiences: take criticism and adapt.
- Be authentic: know who you are and don’t try to be anything else.
- Learn from other leaders: taking this Summer Immersion course gives you the opportunity to connect and hear from so many diverse and experienced leaders. There was a huge emphasis on taking notes and I am glad I did because I learned so much!
What is an experience you had that really stands out to you?
The virtual escape room experience really stood out to me. This gave me the opportunity to not only get closer with two students in the institute but use those leadership skills in a fun environment. I myself am not necessarily good at escape rooms, but the program ambassadors were very helpful in steering my group in the right direction.
What is something new that you learned about yourself?
This course pushed me to learn a lot about myself. Specifically, it encouraged me to identify my strengths, skills, and values.
As Professor Sanderlin said, values are the principles we select to guide our decisions and actions. Once we identify our own actions, decision-making becomes easier. My values include:
- Friendships
- Advancement and Promotion
- Prosperity
- Peace
- Nature
I fully anticipate that they will change as I get older, but as of now, these are my values. I would say that friendships, peace, and nature are all personal values I have. These describe my character and personality. I would then categorize prosperity, advancement, and promotion as values that I want to achieve and prioritize. These values shape me as a leader and person.
Professor Sanderlin defined skills as personal attributes, abilities, or talents that you bring to a job or have acquired through previous experience. My skills include communication, embracing change, and working with youth. Now that I have identified my skills, I know what I can bring to the team.
Finally, by taking the High 5 strength assessment, I found that my strengths are, again, communication, peacekeeping, and self-awareness. By recognizing my strengths, skills, and values, I built my brand as a leader.
How has this experience changed your mindset and impacted your future goals?
Participating in the Leadership Institute encouraged me to narrow my future goals. Julia Sawchak, a Wake Forest alumna and one of my personal favorite speakers, said that “the more specific you are about your goal, the easier decision-making is.” She encouraged me to set more goals to motivate myself and others around me. So all in all, taking this course has encouraged me to set more goals for myself as well as to strengthen and narrow my existing goals.
Describe someone you met who impacted you.
Someone I met that impacted me immensely was Vice Admiral C Forrest Faison. He brought an extremely deep and honorable aspect to leadership. He asked the group questions such as “what will you do with your life” and “what is your purpose.” He encouraged us to listen to our inner voice and to always be flexible. My favorite quote from Vice Admiral C Forrest Faison was “leadership is never about us, it is always about the people you are lucky enough to serve.” He used his stories from the military to provide us with examples of each lesson he gave us. He told us “to always be worthy of the trust placed in your hands.” He was extremely encouraging and a fascinating person. Someone I definitely will never forget.
Why would you recommend the Summer Immersion Program?
It is without hesitation that I would recommend the Leadership Institute Summer Immersion Program: 1) the Deacon Dive-In gives you great insight into what Wake Forest University is truly about; 2) this program is a must for anyone in a leadership role, or who would like to learn more leadership skills; 3) I would highly recommend this program for anyone who wants to learn more about themselves and hone their personal and professional brand.
Learn more about the Leadership Institute here.
Go Deacs!