HDF 415: FLITE PEER LEADERSHIP

URI MINOR IN LEADERSHIP STUDIES, CENTER FOR STUDENT LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

CORE REQUIREMENT FOR THE LEADERSHIP MINOR

LEARNING CONTRACT

Goal: To identify and utilize my Strengths in an organizational/interpersonal setting that

aligns with the mission, vision, values and sponsored programs and activities of URI’s
Center for Student Leadership Development.

Activity: I acted as the Student Coordinator for the Spring 2019 Leadership
Ambassadors.

Evidence: A picture of the students at the CSLD booth.

Annotation: The Leadership Ambassadors booth at the spring Welcome Days are crucial
in attracting prospective students to both the Leadership Studies minor and the
Leadership Institute. Having previously served as an Ambassador myself, I have seen
first-hand the impact that the first-year students have on incoming freshmen. As the
student coordinator, I served to collect applications, schedule training dates, and to be the
first line of communication with the students, the co-coordinator, and the faculty
coordinator. Using my talent strengths of Harmony, Adaptability, Positivity, Empathy,
and Woo, I feel I successfully met the needs of all that were involved.

Using my top strength of Harmony, paired with Adaptability, proved to be crucial in

organizing and scheduling times to meet. Being flexible and agreeable in meeting times
seemed to be the best option, and we even added an additional training date to
accommodate everyone’s schedules. Many students had said that they wouldn’t be apart
of the event if they couldn’t attend the training, but since we had added an extra date, we
were able to keep the number of students up and make sure they all knew what to say to
students as well as what to take away from the experience. This also made it much easier
to take care of scheduling conflicts with individual students. On one of the Welcome
Days, I woke up feeling sick, so I made sure to continue to field questions regarding
timing and scheduling during the morning. I made sure to tell the other coordinator the
night before that I wasn’t feeling well, but I was going to be flexible and try to make it
the next morning. I feel this not only increased my credibility to him, but the students as
well, as they asked their various questions.

The Welcome Days are held in the morning each Saturday. As the student coordinator, I
made sure to set a meeting time earlier than we were needed, and even met the students
earlier to walk to the Ryan Center together. This required personal time that was not
required for me to be actively involved, but my positivity carried me through the early
mornings. A moment that stands out to me was during a slow period, the students and I
were talking, and they seemed to be losing focus and motivation, but I made a joke that
got them back on track. If I wasn’t having a good time, why would the students want to
even be there? Especially since most were just using this time to serve themselves
through and complete their assignment. One of the mornings, a student said he could not
be present for the welcome day, as he was ill, but using my empathy, and having just
been in the same position for the previous weekend, we decided to allow him to stay
home and get better. As it turns out, this welcome day was not particularly busy, and we
did not need him there; there would have been “too many cooks in the kitchen”. I also
related to the students with their busy schedules and feeling as if there was no time to
attend training, but I helped them decide if attending was a good fit for them and to make
sure that they would be comfortable in whichever decision they chose.

Perhaps the most conspicuous strength I used was my strength of woo. Using woo to
assist both the student ambassadors and to meet with the prospective students was crucial
to establish my credibility as a leader and a student in the Leadership Studies Minor.
During training for the ambassadors, I really tried to prove what a great opportunity being
a leadership ambassador is, and even mentioned personal anecdotes of my time in the
position just one year ago. I want the students to like and respect me and make sure they
trust me and what I say. I also used woo to speak with the prospective students who
stopped by the table. I would back up the students’ remarks and talk up the achievements
that the ambassadors were proud of. This gave credibility to both me and the
ambassadors, which was essential for attracting students to both the leadership
ambassadors program as well as pursuing leadership here at URI.