Coursework

Study Abroad

The primary objective of the study abroad course was to provide the students with a better understanding of cultures of the countries as we travel around Europe as well as Ethiopia and Rwanda and the ways around how a culture shapes an individual’s perspective on lifestyles, relationships, and the world in order for us to be fully prepared with interacting with the communities of our various locations.

The key leadership concepts that I extracted from our time abroad were mainly drawn from our  experiences based on the use of journaling and having discussions on how the experiences have shaped us and our time abroad. The reflection essays that we wrote before and after the trip also really shaped the changes to us throughout the semester. We also had in class presentations in which we were educated on interacting with other cultures and how to be culturally sensitive when going in to do service work abroad. We were also educated on how to make the work that we do count for the community. The key leadership concepts focused on ethics and what we value, especially as we traveled around the world.  

The Social Change Model aspect that was most focused on was the idea of consciousness of Self. The journaling we did throughout the semester really allowed me to reflect on my travels, and each city that was visited. Writing through my time in Ethiopia was also extremely impactful, as each day we completed task after task. Our days we were busy and I truly felt that I was making a positive difference in the world, and the looking back at my journal allowed me to then look back and analyze what exactly we did and how the smallest interactions can make the largest impact. I was also better able to understand my beliefs and what I valued throughout my semester. One thing that I explored deeper was which activities brought me the most joy and had the biggest impact, and for me the genuine human connections and the explanations of the impact of creative pieces on society, rather than simply a famous piece of art.

Marketing Society and Public Interests

This course was focused the impact marketing had on society, centralized around the idea that a multi-disciplinary business perspective can be helpful to incite change through the examination of corporate social responsibility, ethics and social marketing. This was further implemented in class as we formed a very heterogeneous academic group, ranging from finance to engineering to political science to human development. This allowed us to look at social issues and behavioral changes on a multi-perspective approach, and then taught us how to implement marketing strategies in order to benefit society and change behaviors.

The key leadership concepts that we were taught was the importance of values-based leadership, and how the importance of instilling certain values can help shape society. On concept that stuck out to me was the idea of social entrepreneurship. While business has a stereotype of solely for profit without concerns about its employees, society, or the future, social entrepreneurship redefines the field. Rather than being charities, they provide a good or service to a struggling community at a low cost and use the funds to help expand the business to help other individuals. This idea that having individual believe in the important and understand the extent of which helping developing communities helps us all, is a key concept of the type of leader I aim to be.

The social change model is most line with my collaborative experiences within the course. Working alongside my team members, we were able to develop a community of trust which then gave each individual the freedom to share their ideas without free of judgment. This then causes a ripple effect in which individuals will build off the ideas of others, and create something with a lasting impression, that would have otherwise never come to fruition. Another aspect our professor instilled within us was commitment. The idea that not every solution will work and not every team will be perfect, but in order to enact longstanding change, there needs to be a commitment to the people and to the process. This does not only include finishing a project all the way through, but also giving your absolute best ideas, intensity, and work no matter what the circumstances are.

Field Study

The field study class allowed us to develop our experiences in our African sites, specifically in Adigrat, Ethiopia for my group. We conducted country research for our specific sites, teaching preparation and spent time teaching as well, research on the various organizations that we would be working with and a human centered design project while at our location in order to best help the community.

The key concepts of leadership I learned through the course was mainly centralized in the teaching and the human centered design project. Through the teaching preparation we were placed in groups of four. We created lesson plans for various age ranges, as the group of students we would be working with was still not yet set. In Ethiopia, we worked with children ranging from kindergartners to eight graders. With such a wide range of students I was constantly adapting to the situation. Two of my main strengths as identified by the Clifton Personality Assessment are positivity and adaptability. This frequently helped we as I knew how to encourage students who shied away from asserting themselves in group activities, and how to switch gears if a certain activity was ineffective.

The social change model really comes into play on a few different levels. The largest influencer that I recognize is community, and the importance community awareness and support. Without the community leaders and members supporting our time there we couldn’t necessarily do any of the work that we did we need. Not only did we make a commitment to them, they made one to us. In order to implement our programs needed the support of the elementary school administrators, teachers, and the cooperation of the students. The administrators were open to having us, American students, welcomed into their schools; the teachers were open to having us within their classrooms sharing precious instructional time, and the students were open to our different perspectives and styles of teaching. Each party, including myself was open to a critical part of the social change model: change. All of us were open to open and growth which lead to a better environment for us all.