"THISJUSTIN"
Breaking News on My Leadership Experience
2015 Class Officer:
Female Member-at-Large
I am extremely lucky to come from a house full of Hokies and have a role model, my older sister, who was also very involved at Virginia Tech. When she came here, she was involved in the Student Alumni Associates (SAA) and encouraged me to apply when I was a freshman. When I went to the information session, I also attended the Class Office information session and the position of Female Member-at-Large really stood out to me. Both SAA and Class Office were filled with passionate and involved students, and I knew I wanted to be part of organizations like this.
After much planning and organization, I was ready to start campaigning and after a week of campaigning, meeting people, and getting my brand out around campus, I was elected as the 2015 Female Member-at-Large and accepted into the Student Alumni Associates! I quickly met the 7 other class officers, and little did I know the impact that they would all have on my life and the experiences that we would go through together.
The 2015 Class Officers before our Ring Premiere
Our first big roadblock came up when one of our class officers found himself in a little bit of trouble with the school. We were forced to be put into an uncomfortable position on if this class officer could resume his position or would be asked to step down. After many meetings, a few heated arguments, and overcoming different perspectives and thoughts, we were able to come to an agreed conclusion and had to ask one of our closest friends and classmate to step down from his position. Although this was extremely hard for all of us, we knew this was the best decision for the class and in the end, it allowed us all to grow and become even closer.
Overall, Class Office has been one of the most rewarding leadership positions that I have been involved in at Virginia Tech. Through meetings, picking the class moto/colors and leadership team, and planning and executing many events, I was able to learn about myself, gain best friends, and become the leader that I am today. I gained so much from the situations that we went through together and will be able to use that in my career and in my future. The Class of 2015 officers have enabled me to learn, grow, and have given me many unbelievable college memories.
The 2015 Class Officers at the Hokie Hi Picnic for SAA
As Class Officers, we had weekly meetings, helped with the classes that were older than us, and began to build close friendships. One of our first and biggest duties was to select the Class Leadership Team, which consists of 26 individuals like the Ring Design Chair, Ring Dance Chair, Marketing Chair, etc. These individuals help plan all of our big events like kick-off concert, ring premiere/dance, and grad bash. After reviewing applications from hundreds of classmates and holding interviews, we finally selected our Leadership Team. This showed me a lot about myself as a leader and also the other class officers. This was the first time that I was put into a position where it was completely up to us as friends and leaders, not an advisor or teacher, to make this huge selection and choose 26 more leaders for our class. We were able to build on each other's leadership skills and complement our strengths and weaknesses. Selecting the Leadership Team really brought us together as a group and forced us to be professional leaders and learn how to get through any bumps or roadblocks that came our way.
