Reflection
The LeADERS program at Old Dominion serves as an opportunity for students to build skills through real-world experiences alongside their academic coursework. LeADERS emphasizes the application of (L)eadership, (A)cademic Internships, (D)iversity, (E)ntrepreneurship, (R)esearch, and (S)ervice Learning in their experiences. This ePortfolio displays how my involvement in certain core principles of the LeADERS program cultivated my personal and professional growth for the future.
Program Reflection
Throughout my 4 years of study, LeADERS was essential in my social, academic, and professional growth. I joined the program to enhance my practical skills in a real-world setting outside of the classroom environment where everything is simply obtaining knowledge through theory and ideas. By doing so, the program has allowed me to build meaningful connections and improve my communication skills to engage in valuable opportunities that would prove to be beneficial in my future career path. I believe I mostly benefited in that regard as I am a kinesthetic learner, and need to apply myself to strengthen my skills. I have been able to do so by having beneficial opportunities in collaborating with peers, professors, and experienced individuals on demanding projects. I hope to exhibit all the talents and skills I have obtained through this program to future employers that need strong leaders who would prove to be valuable assets to their organization.
Challenges & Accomplishments
LeADERS has enabled me to overcome obstacles that I otherwise would have not been able to if I chose not to take the opportunity. These challenges I faced through each core LeADERS aspect have allowed me to refine my weaknesses to become a better version of myself.
Presentation and Communication
As a member of LeADERS, one is expected to have the ability to present their thoughts to an audience. This proved to be a daunting task for me as presentation and verbal communication have always been weaknesses of mine. I was always able to properly express my ideas on paper, however, my difficulty was ultimately relaying those connected thoughts in my head to an individual or group of individuals. Through LeADERS, I was placed into situations where I had to verbally present projects, reports, and ideas to a wider audience. This includes my Service Learning course where the objective was a joint project between engineering and education students, that are tasked with presenting their engineering concepts in the form of a lecture to elementary school students. Another instance is my Entrepreneurship course which is also my senior design capstone course where our team would have bi-weekly meetings with the class to present updates to our project which we would eventually have to formally present to professors and experienced engineers in their respective fields. In these experiences, I was able to learn and adapt with practice, feeling more comfortable in public spaces where I could express ideas effectively with speech.
Time Management
Many students are tasked with heavy coursework, responsibilities in organizations, and even working full-time jobs with the expectation to balance all these commitments effectively. While this proves to be a difficult feat, my time in the LeADERS program has taught me to manage my time efficiently and establish a system that would allow me to allocate my time to my various priorities. I was able to utilize the core principles I learned in my Leadership course to manage my life as if it were one large ongoing project. Being able to think as a project manager assisted me in developing skills and applying tools to my life to ensure that my deadlines are met and my workflow is fully organized.
Leadership and Commitment
The initial core of the LeADERS program is Leadership, and every skill required for a student to be a better leader. Through LeADERS, I had the privilege of establishing several connections that slowly bloomed into great friendships on campus. These connections have allowed me to find a sense of belonging in the Monarch community and commit to several organizations that are essential in growing my potential as a future leader. Namely, the ODU Engineering Ambassadors organization is an initiative to develop the leadership potential of engineering students. My role in the organization included providing tours of ODU's facilities for prospective students around campus and engaging with them about my experiences with campus life. Additionally, I assisted in hosting First Fridays which was an event created by Engineering Ambassadors to allow incoming freshmen to tour each College and the various research and projects within them. Overall, LeADERS has amplified my motivation to engage with campus organizations and in turn given me the opportunity to build myself through my leadership roles.
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Summary & Future Endeavors
LeADERS has played a crucial role in my academic journey as I have been able to improve upon my weaknesses and acquire new skills through my interconnected experiences in the program. The program has allowed me to demonstrate an array of refined skills that I will be able to utilize at my disposal to ensure success in my future career. I strongly believe that through my experiences, I have become a stronger leader, better communicator, and more proactive not only in my academics but in all aspects of my life. The challenges I overcame in my experiences allowed me to become well-rounded, and the best version of myself that will be able to persevere in the face of any daunting task I encounter in the future. I am confident that through the projects, organizations, and research studies I have been involved in, LeADERS has transformed me into a strong candidate with an excellent work ethic that would be a valuable asset to an organization for a future employer.
As I look towards graduation, I continue to reflect on my growth in my undergraduate studies. I have truly enhanced my knowledge in the Mechanical Engineering field and thus established a strong academic background. After graduation, my goal is to contribute to society and improve as an engineer that will imagine solutions and bring them to life, innovate technological advancements, and inspire the next generation moving forward. My passion for engineering is what constantly drives me towards this goal to find a meaningful career that will take me to new heights and enable me to critically think about complex problems. Ultimately, whereas LeADERS provided me the opportunity to excel in an academic environment and prepare for my professional aspirations, I look towards the future to the next step in my journey as a reliable engineer.
