Since Connectedness is one of my strengths, I think that systems thinking is very important. This perspective allows me to find meaning in all the tasks I do as an LC in the LEAD office and how everything ties together. Most of the things that I’m most proud of this semester wouldn’t have been possible if I didn’t work at the LEAD office. For instance, at the Fall retreat, Gerry gave a presentation on ‘Finding Your Purpose’ where he forced us to consider what we want to accomplish within the next 6 months of our lives if we knew we were dying. This exercise was powerful because it made me realize that I was putting off things that I was interested in pursuing because it didn’t seem like the “right time.” Going through the activity made me realize that there is never a “right time” because our lives are fleeting, so we need to make the most of what we can now. This activity is what gave me to take Nick’s class this semester instead of pushing it off to my last semester in Spring 2019, and I’m so glad that I went for it. Í’ve learned so much in Nick’s class about how to be an ethical leader, and it allowed me to interact with people I never would have otherwise. One of the requirements of the class is to complete a Community-Based Learning (CBL) Project. When I began the CBL project, I approached Kylie Stamm from ODIME about how I could volunteer with her and she presented me with an opportunity to complete my hours by helping supervise students attending the East Coast Asian American Student Union (ECAASU) Conference at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
This experience made me realize the huge fundamental gap I have when it comes to Asian American history which fuels my need to learn. Attending this conference really inspired me to get out of my comfort zone and learn more about the legacy that Asian Americans left in the past. I’m committed to learning more over the summer. I plan using the consult approach to ask Kylie and other AAPI faculty/staff if they have any recommendations for books or academic literature that I can read to reduce this knowledge gap in order to be the best leader that I can be.
Next year, I’ll be the Internal Vice President of the Asian Pacific American Coalition (APAC). I never would have ran for this positions if I didn’t take this class which pushed me to find a community based learning project.
It’s through systems thinking that I’m able to see the connections that brought me to the circumstances that I am in today. I never would have joined APAC if I didn’t take Nick’s class, and that wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t hear Gerry’s presentation. Many of the things that I’ve accomplished this semester wouldn’t have been possible if not for the LC position. Going into the next year, I hope to continue pushing myself into new opportunities in order to grow as a student leader and expand my sphere of influence.
