"THISJUSTIN"
Breaking News on My Leadership Experience
The Leadership and Social Change minor requires satisfactory completion of course work from a leadership core and electives, social change electives, and a capstone project, for a total of 19 credit hours. At least six hours of course work need to be at the 3000 level or above. Specific selections and requirements within each area are provided within the check sheets for each graduation year. The courses that I choose to complete for the Minor are listed below:
LDRS 1015: EXPLORING CITIZEN LEADERSHIP
This leadership course introduced language, theories, values, and competencies of leadership. I was able to engage in discussion around leadership challenges related to change, diversity, conflict, and self-awareness. Through an examination of historical and contemporary leaders, as well as leadership models, philosophies, and theories, community I was able to be engaged in an experience that advances my knowledge and practice of leadership.
Although I was very involved in high school in extracarricular activities and sports, this class helped me increase self-awareness through exploration of values, beliefs, culture, and identiy. Through personal action plans and engagement in service, I was able to get a basic understanding of the relationship between the leader and the follower and be able to set goals for being a leader over the course of my time at Virginia Tech.
LDRS 1016: EXPLORING CITIZEN LEADERSHIP: Communities of praxis
In this class, students were introduced to the field of alumni relations and alumni volunteer leadership and their importance to the university community. We examined the history, mission and organizational structure of Virginia Tech and the Alumni Association and explored how and why alumni became invested in the university’s missions of learning, discovery and engagement. We learned about the importance of cultivating students and alumni to support and serve the university in a variety of significant leadership. We worked in teams to design projects which require involvement with alumni and they will shadow an alum in a selected career.
This class was taken with Debbie Day, who is the Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations for Virginia Tech. This course was unique because each individual student was able to pick which course and material they wanted to focus on. My mom was sorority sisters and friends with Debbie Day when they both attended Virginia Tech, so I knew that I wanted to take this course. It ended up being such a good decision, because Debbie encouraged us to get involved with the Alumni Associates. Since my older sister was a member of the Student Alumni Associates, I attended the information sessions and also the 2015 Class Office information sessions. This opened the door to so many opportunities and I ended up running for Female Member-at-Large for the Class of 2015 and fortunately won the election. I now serve as a 2015 Class Officer, along with being a member of the Student Alumni Associates. These two organizations alone have opened the door to an unbelivable number of experiences like serving on the Ring Design Committee, Ring Dance Committee, and being selected to be the opening speaker for the 2015 Commencement Ceremony.
2015 Class Officers at the Hokie Hi Picnic
SS: PRINCPLES OF PEER LEADERSHIP ldrs 2014
Students become peer leaders in a university environment, across all disciplines. Examine theories and basic principles associated with being a positive influence on fellow students and develop skills utilized to motivate peers in teamwork-based scenarios. (3H, 3C).
This class was unique because it not only consisted of the material and coursework that was presented in class, but it also consisted of a recitation. I came upon this class because my instructor of LDRS 2015, Matt Grimes, became the director of a new Living-Learning Community called 'Thrive.' Matt reached out to me after I took his class to see if I would be interested in being a Peer Leader for Thrive, and I knew in an instant that it was something that I would love to participate in. I would soon learn that this was one of the most rewarding experiences during my time here at Virginia Tech. I was able to learn so much from the students that I taught in Thrive and it really strengthened and challenged my leadership skills. The Princples of Peer Leadership Class was also really rewarding because I was able to gain further knowledge on being a peer leader, learned skills on how to lead groups effectively, and developed skills necessary to respond to peers in a helping manner. I enjoyed this experience so much that I furthered my relationship with Thrive by being an Intern my Junior year.
hum 1704: INTRO TO APPALACHIAN STUDIES
This class traces the idea of Appalachia in American and world consciousness and its expression in the humanities and social sciences. Through comparison with other cultural groups, explores humanistic problems of cultural identity, race and ethnicity, globalization and place-based economic relations, and the bio-cultural impact of massive natural resource extraction.
I found this class extremely rewarding because being a Finance major, I was not exposed to interactive classes like this, which really challenged my beliefs and gave me the opportunity to explore problems of cultural identify. Since I was raised in North Carolina, I thought that I was very familiar with the Appalachian Mountains, but I was able to learn about the history of Appalachia and the existing problems that arise, especially the coal vs mountain debate. From hearing personal stories, doing our own research projects, and taking field trips like listening to an Appalchia concert and cherning apple butter, I was able to get a glimpse of Appalchia in America.
Churning Apple Butter at a local place near Blacksburg
PHS 3534: DRUG EDUCATION
Students will study the latest information on drug use and its effects on society, as well as on the individual. Students will examine drugs and drug use from a variety of perspectives—behavioral, pharmacological, historical, social, legal, and clinical.
This course was meaningful to me since drugs and alcohol are so relevant in the college atmosphere. Going forward, I think it is crucial to gain knowledge on the impact of alcohol on society and how to prevent substance abuse going forward. There are so many great leaders and role models that have struggled with addiction, and if more people were knowledgeable on how serious drug addiction is and how to help, there wouldn’t be these struggles. Leadership is inclusive and accessible to all people, and PHS 3534 gives you the skills on how to be a leader when it comes to preventing drug addiction for yourself, a social group, and in the community. This class shows the impact that drugs have on your body, brain, and nervous system, and is something that would impact the way that you lead. With all the leadership roles and career set-up for next year, that could all be ruined by participating in drugs or consuming alcohol, and it is important to see how easy it is to lose everything. Although drugs and alcohol are not something that are relevant in my life or future life plan, this information and knowledge gave me the skills on how to help people that do have these struggles. Overall, social change refers to an alteration in the social order of a society. This class showed me how much impact drugs and alcohol are having on our society, and shows students the importance it is to not participate in these activities. It also gives students the knowledge and skills to move society away from relying on drugs and alcohol, and gives the opportunity to move society in a direction where drugs and alcohol are not an issue.
mgt 3304: MANAGEMENT THEORY AND LEADERSHIP PRACTICE
This survey course introduces the student to a broad range of concepts, theories and practices important for a basic understanding of management. Topics also focus on the environment in which today’s managers must effectively operate.
This course was helpful for leadership because it connected the role that leading plays in management and the component practices use in organizations to provide leadership. This course provided useful information on the role that managers play in an organization and the importance of managing people, processes, and other resources. I found this course very interesting because we learned about Lean practices and six sigma, which I was then able to use this information in my internship at Capital One. My internship was a Project Management program, which focused on Agile Continuous Improvement Practice. Since Agile and Lean are closely connected, I was able to use the information from MGT 3304 to help me excel in my internship and gain further knowledge on lean and agile.
Working on an Agile Project this summer at Capital One