As I preach and preach the idea of community, I keep emphasizing the need for the leader to develop a sense of comfort and safety, but I was never able to go into details on how to go about this. I'm glad I got to Part 5, without it, I might have continued doing my stating without explaining. The most important part of chapter 9, "Foster Collaboration" is the idea that a leader's supporters need not only trust and feel safe with him/her, but also to feel comfortable with their other colleagues. It almost seems that trusting in one's leader but not one's community members is nearly impossible, but a leader needs to be able to notice and be attuned to those relationships. That's why it's so hard to be a leader: you can't pay attention to just yourself and the interactions you're directly involved in; you have to pay attention to everything, because believe it or not, as a leader you are involved in every interaction - however direct it happens to be.
It would be silly, though, to assume that every single member of a team will get along all the time: some couples just won't mesh. However, there's a difference between disliking someone and not being able to trust them. "To get extraordinary things done, people have to rely on each other. They need to have a sense of mutual dependence - a community of people in which each knows that they need the others to be successful" (233). A leader needs to be able to (in KP's words) "facilitate relationships." Like in a discussion, the facilitator does not act as the mother of the group - making sure everyone gets along - but just acts as the supervisor - making sure everyone in heard and no one is disrespected. That is the important part of a community understanding: if there is distrust or fear in the constituents of other constituents, nothing can be accomplished successfully or completely. KP puts it sharply, "Knowing how other people feel about issues enables you to incorporate aspects of all the relevant viewpoints into a project and demonstrate to others how their ideas have been heard and included" (232).
I've already spoken once about my grandpa's lesson "you have the power to make your day incredible." In chapter 10, "Strengthen Others," KP claims, "Accountability results in feelings of ownership, that you - not someone else - have the responsibility for what's going on around you" (258). This applies, obviously, to my grandpa's teaching, but I want to apply both of these to the idea of leading people. It should be stating the obvious when I say supporters look up to a true leader and mimic his or her actions. This is what happens with children's role models - they are leaders who, in some cases, may not even know they're leaders. This is what happened with the relationship between myself and my grandpa. I look up to him simply as the human being that he is and so, inadvertently, mimic his actions. I may not even realize it, but I perform and conduct myself in a similar manner to how my grandfather conducts himself simply because I view him as a leader. With children and their role models, the picture is clearer: a young boy dresses like Spiderman because he wants to be Spiderman. He wants to exhibit the same traits that Spiderman does: the same goes with children and firemen, policemen, their parents and guardians. And leaders.
This is where the leader must be careful, because he or she is always leading whether or not he/she realizes it. Every action and phrase echoes in the ears and hearts of their supporters. This is something I must be especially attuned to as an officer of a women's social club. Every single word and action - or inaction - I display is seen and recorded by the women I lead with.
On a related note and in congruence with the above passage on accountability, if I can allow these women to understand that this club is not mine, or our President's, but their's: if I can allow these girls the realization that this club exists for and because of them, perhaps they can understand the importance of being an active member and sharing their voices.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Extra Credit - The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes & Posner, Part 4
A few weeks ago, a co-worker was talking about failure. She claimed that a 3.8 is better than a 4.0 in the business world because a 3.8 shows that you know how to fail. Upon hearing this at first, a lot of people may not understand: why would a 3.8 have a better chance of getting the job over a 4.0? I couldn't adequately explain it at the time, but here in Part 4, KP have helped me, simply with their term "psychological hardiness." Specifically, there are two quotes which emphasize the point I would like to make:
On a related tangent, I wanted to dive into the idea of "small wins." When KP first began explaining the small wins idea, I immediately thought of to-do lists. I thought of the action-plan to-do lists made in Leadership Foundations. But I also thought of the often comedic scheme of putting an already completed task on a to-do list just so you can cross it off. This is comedic, sure, but it's also displays an extreme genius. Crossing off an already performed task gives you a small win from the very beginning and boosts morale to carry you through the whole list.
In Chapter 7, KP relate one leadership story that goes as follows, "When a senior engineer responded with 'it won't work' to a manager's question about a project's feasibility, everyone jumped on this melody and sounded ready to accept defeat. Stephen asked the group to take another tack: 'What is working?'" (170). How could one read this narration and not immediately think of mirror neurons? This leading scientifically thing has really stuck with me throughout this semester; mirror neurons fascinate me. The idea that one smile really can light up a room is the basis of how I live my life - and now it's proven. But anyway, I'm getting slightly off track. When you lead a small win to-do list with an already completed task you give yourself (or your team, depending on the environment) a boost: "We already achieved so much," say the mirror neurons, "We can achieve more!"
My grandpa always taught me that I have the power to make my day incredible or to ruin it. The above quotations and explanations summarize this perfectly. My mirror neurons, the way I react to failures and stresses, control how my day and how my life plays out. If I can control my emotional communications and interactions then I can control the emotions and motivations of the people around me. From a leadership standpoint, if I am psychologically hardy, if I stand tall and firm in times of failure and stress, I will automatically surround myself with supporters of the same strand.
1. "'Success does not breed success. It breeds failure. It is failure which breeds success" (200).KP's idea of psychological hardiness in leadership comes from innovation, inspiring change, and creating small wins over large, not achievable goals. From a business standpoint, someone who has failed before will be okay with failing again: this doesn't mean that you'll have a lazy, forever-failing employee. It means you'll have a supporter who can bounce back and be ready to try something different. "It isn't stress that makes you ill but how you perceive and respond to stressful events" (206). Someone who has responded to the stress that comes from failure will be familiar with it, not shocked and hurt. That is why the 3.8 wins over the 4.0. The 4.0, on paper, has never failed.
and
2. "If we're not making mistakes then we're only doing what we already know how to do....The only way that people can learn is by doing things they've never done before. This entails resilience and becoming psychologically hardy" (204).
On a related tangent, I wanted to dive into the idea of "small wins." When KP first began explaining the small wins idea, I immediately thought of to-do lists. I thought of the action-plan to-do lists made in Leadership Foundations. But I also thought of the often comedic scheme of putting an already completed task on a to-do list just so you can cross it off. This is comedic, sure, but it's also displays an extreme genius. Crossing off an already performed task gives you a small win from the very beginning and boosts morale to carry you through the whole list.
In Chapter 7, KP relate one leadership story that goes as follows, "When a senior engineer responded with 'it won't work' to a manager's question about a project's feasibility, everyone jumped on this melody and sounded ready to accept defeat. Stephen asked the group to take another tack: 'What is working?'" (170). How could one read this narration and not immediately think of mirror neurons? This leading scientifically thing has really stuck with me throughout this semester; mirror neurons fascinate me. The idea that one smile really can light up a room is the basis of how I live my life - and now it's proven. But anyway, I'm getting slightly off track. When you lead a small win to-do list with an already completed task you give yourself (or your team, depending on the environment) a boost: "We already achieved so much," say the mirror neurons, "We can achieve more!"
My grandpa always taught me that I have the power to make my day incredible or to ruin it. The above quotations and explanations summarize this perfectly. My mirror neurons, the way I react to failures and stresses, control how my day and how my life plays out. If I can control my emotional communications and interactions then I can control the emotions and motivations of the people around me. From a leadership standpoint, if I am psychologically hardy, if I stand tall and firm in times of failure and stress, I will automatically surround myself with supporters of the same strand.
Service Learning - Chi Alpha Kappa Sunday Meeting Discussion Style
Every Sunday Chi Alpha Kappa holds our weekly formal meetings. All semester we've been trying to convey the importance of these meetings: all communication cannot be done over the internet; meetings are supposed to be a time when we can straighten out any confusion, address problems, talk about improvements, share ideas, and set dates. We have asked the girls, for our own sake, to let us know 24 hours in advance if they can't make it to meeting and every week we get at least three girls ditch out an hour or two before. We've tried explaining that this is inconsiderate - let alone against our conduct code. It's been frustrating us all year - and we have a President who leads by words, instead of by example. In some cases, this has led to a necessary relegating, allowing the next two highest officer positions to lead subtly.
With all of these problems in hand, last Sunday my co-president and I decided to conduct meeting as an open-floor discussion. We began by passing around a box with pens and paper for girls to anonymously submit concerns and complaints. Through planning, we also were able to bring up the constant problem of officers leading by words, not actions. Predictably, the first discussion meeting was not as successful as we had hoped. We (my co-pres. and I) addressed a lot of issues that had been nagging at us without having to lecture and we were able to hear a lot of the concerns from the girls. The problem came when we asked these girls how they wanted to see these concerns addressed. In most cases they either didn't want to share or didn't know how to go about finding solutions. I think - especially with the amount of first year college women in our club - that a lot of these girls don't understand that leadership comes from every single individual: that every woman is a leader. They are under the impression that leadership comes with a title. I think a lot of the blame for this idea comes from our officers and the way meetings have been conducted in the past.
In Kouzes and Posner's The Leadership Challenge, they state, "Questioning the status quo is not only for leaders. Effective leaders create a climate in which others feel comfortable doing the same. If your organization is going to be the best it can be, everyone has to feel comfortable in speaking up and taking initiative" (186). This mantra is one that I think Chi Alpha Kappa has been dramatically lacking in so far. We have - because of the leaders and the titles we have doled out - created a climate where girls don't feel comfortable to share ideas. One of the concerns we had come up last meeting started with a complaint about not having enough sisters attending events and meetings and ended with our Event Coordinators receiving dozens of ideas for events that the majority of our sisters would enjoy. We would have had no idea that the girls weren't crazy about our past events because they never shared with us what they wanted. That is not their fault though, the fault lies with the leaders.
Our job, as a social club, is to improve our community and to improve the lives of our sisters. My goal, from here on out, with Chi Alpha Kappa is to use my title to teach these girls - especially our Freshmen - that leadership comes from every single corner of an organization. My goal, with Chi Alpha Kappa is to build confident women into confident leaders (by 2016).
With all of these problems in hand, last Sunday my co-president and I decided to conduct meeting as an open-floor discussion. We began by passing around a box with pens and paper for girls to anonymously submit concerns and complaints. Through planning, we also were able to bring up the constant problem of officers leading by words, not actions. Predictably, the first discussion meeting was not as successful as we had hoped. We (my co-pres. and I) addressed a lot of issues that had been nagging at us without having to lecture and we were able to hear a lot of the concerns from the girls. The problem came when we asked these girls how they wanted to see these concerns addressed. In most cases they either didn't want to share or didn't know how to go about finding solutions. I think - especially with the amount of first year college women in our club - that a lot of these girls don't understand that leadership comes from every single individual: that every woman is a leader. They are under the impression that leadership comes with a title. I think a lot of the blame for this idea comes from our officers and the way meetings have been conducted in the past.
In Kouzes and Posner's The Leadership Challenge, they state, "Questioning the status quo is not only for leaders. Effective leaders create a climate in which others feel comfortable doing the same. If your organization is going to be the best it can be, everyone has to feel comfortable in speaking up and taking initiative" (186). This mantra is one that I think Chi Alpha Kappa has been dramatically lacking in so far. We have - because of the leaders and the titles we have doled out - created a climate where girls don't feel comfortable to share ideas. One of the concerns we had come up last meeting started with a complaint about not having enough sisters attending events and meetings and ended with our Event Coordinators receiving dozens of ideas for events that the majority of our sisters would enjoy. We would have had no idea that the girls weren't crazy about our past events because they never shared with us what they wanted. That is not their fault though, the fault lies with the leaders.
Our job, as a social club, is to improve our community and to improve the lives of our sisters. My goal, from here on out, with Chi Alpha Kappa is to use my title to teach these girls - especially our Freshmen - that leadership comes from every single corner of an organization. My goal, with Chi Alpha Kappa is to build confident women into confident leaders (by 2016).
Service Learning - Chi Alpha Kappa's Run for Your Life 5k
On Halloween this year, Chi Alpha Kappa (a women's social club at MSU) put on its first ever philanthropic event. We spent months organizing the first annual Run For Your Life 5k to benefit the Bozeman Help Center. The stress that this event caused our leaders was immense, and come race day, we weren't entirely sure that it would be even a little bit successful. But we had 70 participants. SEVENTY PARTICIPANTS. That's huge!
The race started with a short fun run for the kids. Starting at the front of Bobcat Stadium, a huge group of kids ran down 11th, to campus, and up the mall where we had a few clubs, Chi Alpha Kappa girls, and fraternity men stationed handing out candy. They finished after running up 7th and back to the stadium. My favorite costume was definitely the kitten (who was only about four years old), but we also had two Buzz Lightyears who were a close second.
After the fun run, the 5k began. Almost every participant was in full costume; we had a grandpa (who actually shaved a cul-de-sac into his hair) with his trophy wife as well as Paulie Bleeker (from Juno) and a slice of pizza, amongst other awesome costumes. As each runner crossed the finish line, they were handed a raffle ticket which they could enter into the drawing back by the registration tent. The baskets were spectacular; we had donations from Diesel Pros, Sage Spa Living, the MSU Bookstore, the MSU Ticket Office, as well as seven other local businesses. One basket had two free ski passes to Big Sky Resort. There were also two baskets available for silent auction. I was manning the face painting station, and to wrap it all off we gave the five best costumes gift cards to U-Swirl Frozen Yogurt. There was hot cider and hot chocolate provided by Town & Country Foods.
By the end of the day, the first annual Run For Your Life 5k was an incredible success and I know that relieved a huge weight off the shoulders of our event leads. I have some exciting news to reveal later this week which effects the future of Run For Your Life 5k. The plans as of right now are to make Run For Your Life an annual philanthropic event with Chi Alpha Kappa.
For the primary organization of this event, I took a side step, and allowed some of our girls who had never had the experience of organizing an event learn and create. I think I learned more this way than if I had taken the lead. I know a lot about my own leadership style, the way I handle stress, and my own adaptive leadership tricks, but I hadn't really been able to step back and observe other personalities at work. Our two main leads were extremely different, but worked together pretty well. One is oftentimes abrasive, but always made sure the job got done - I would go so far as to call her an Authoritative type. The other is a lot quieter and calmer and prefers communicating one on one with her supporters rather than in a meeting style. It was interesting to learn from both of them and as an officer of XAK, I was able to practice my coaching. Because of my experience, each one came to me on multiple occasions for advice and I practiced an aspect of leadership I don't often get to use. At one point I had to actually teach the idea of adaptive leadership to both, and press the idea that nothing is going to go right come event day - no matter how thoroughly you plan. At the end of the day, I think all of the club girls learned a lot and I know the Bozeman community enjoyed themselves and the Help Center appreciated the help.
Extra Credit - The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes & Posner, Part 3
There are far too many passages from Part 3 that hit me like a train. That's how I feel about Kouzes in general: every once in a while he'll have one sentence that just jumps off the page and influences more than the entirety of the chapter. There's one passage on page 119, "They develop a deep understanding of collective yearnings; they seek out the brewing consensus among those they would lead. They listen carefully for quiet whisperings and attend to subtle cues. They get a sense of what people want, what they value, and what they dream about." Normally his train-passages are even shorter than this one, but this is one I wanted to speak on directly. KP brings this idea up while discussing "Listen Deeply to Others" under the subheading "Find a Common Purpose." I know you're probably tired of hearing me preach about this "community" thing, but I can't help but emphasize mine and KP's (underlying) point. Community - being able to develop a sense of belonging, a sense of family - is a necessary aspect of leadership. The above passage is absolutely impossible if you have a low Emotional Intelligence and/or no understanding of your constituents. A leader needs to understand the individual in order to understand his or her wants, values, and dreams - and a leader must understand the differences between each individual so they can work in a team setting. In Finding a Common Purpose, KP states, "Leaders must show others how they, too, will be served by the long-term vision of the future, how their specific needs can be satisfied" (118). This cannot be done if the leader does not know who their individual is and, especially, if they don't know how to communicate socially and emotionally.
The above idea brings me to what I most wanted to talk about as I finished Part 3: Animate the Vision. This is something I often struggle with: when I feel passionate about something and want to convey that sense of importance to others, the idea often falls apart in the telling. As I was reading KP's suggestions - use symbolic language, make images of the future, practice positive communication, express your emotions, speak from the heart - I couldn't help but thinking it was all too robotic. Express your emotions and speaking from the heart, together, makes sense to me. But as I was reflecting on the Parts 1 and 2, I was thinking about the idea of clarifying your values so you can communicate them to others. This process is intrusive: you clarify your values to yourself first so that you can better grasp them. In your understanding of your own values, you're able to convey them to others: it's exactly like my scenario describing how I can now deliver my most important value immediately. I can do this because I, myself, know it and have defined it.
Then, I was thinking again on my inability to convey passionate ideas. I often times fall back on the joke that Writers can't talk; we're socially awkward creatures and can communicate better through a piece of paper than through our mouths. However, I then forced myself to take this idea past the joke and into the realm of understanding. When I laugh off my faltering communication skills, I usually claim I need more time than is allowed in regular conversation to formulate words: when writing I have backspace and a nearly infinite amount of time to make my message clear; in conversation, there is no such thing as backspace. Only then did I realize that what I need that time for is to clarify my idea, but if I mimic the same effort I took in defining my values into defining my passions before I communicate them I would be able to relate my ideas in the same immediate way that I can now relate my values. I can convey these to others simply because I understand them so well, myself. If, instead of jumping into a rambling explanation, I pause and reflect internally, I can understand my visions and passions well enough to convey them easily to others. I take that time the writer needs to develop an internal definition so I can successfully make it external.
The above idea brings me to what I most wanted to talk about as I finished Part 3: Animate the Vision. This is something I often struggle with: when I feel passionate about something and want to convey that sense of importance to others, the idea often falls apart in the telling. As I was reading KP's suggestions - use symbolic language, make images of the future, practice positive communication, express your emotions, speak from the heart - I couldn't help but thinking it was all too robotic. Express your emotions and speaking from the heart, together, makes sense to me. But as I was reflecting on the Parts 1 and 2, I was thinking about the idea of clarifying your values so you can communicate them to others. This process is intrusive: you clarify your values to yourself first so that you can better grasp them. In your understanding of your own values, you're able to convey them to others: it's exactly like my scenario describing how I can now deliver my most important value immediately. I can do this because I, myself, know it and have defined it.
Then, I was thinking again on my inability to convey passionate ideas. I often times fall back on the joke that Writers can't talk; we're socially awkward creatures and can communicate better through a piece of paper than through our mouths. However, I then forced myself to take this idea past the joke and into the realm of understanding. When I laugh off my faltering communication skills, I usually claim I need more time than is allowed in regular conversation to formulate words: when writing I have backspace and a nearly infinite amount of time to make my message clear; in conversation, there is no such thing as backspace. Only then did I realize that what I need that time for is to clarify my idea, but if I mimic the same effort I took in defining my values into defining my passions before I communicate them I would be able to relate my ideas in the same immediate way that I can now relate my values. I can convey these to others simply because I understand them so well, myself. If, instead of jumping into a rambling explanation, I pause and reflect internally, I can understand my visions and passions well enough to convey them easily to others. I take that time the writer needs to develop an internal definition so I can successfully make it external.
Friday, November 22, 2013
Service Learning - You've Been Caught Studying
As well as all of my other clubs, activities, and hobbies, I am a part of Alpha Lambda Delta (sorry about all the confusing Greek letters, Josh). ALD is a national student honor society that I was invited to join after my Freshman year here at MSU. With it, I have the opportunity to meet new students, network with community members as well as people outside of Bozeman, volunteer, and study, celebrate, and hang out with my peers. To make Dead Week a little easier on the MSU library population, our officers have organized "You've Been Caught Studying." This is mostly just a fun and celebratory thing. Friday, we spent a couple hours in the library putting together little gifts: it's a piece of candy with a note attached that reads, "You've been caught studying! Good luck with finals!" Throughout Dead Week and on the Monday of Final's Week, we'll have ALD members going around the library, handing out these gifts to everyone in the hopes that it will brighten up their day and week and finals for them.
I'm not hugely involved with ALD because I'm so busy with a lot of other, higher priority things, but when I got the email about "You've Been Caught Studying," and saw that I had the times free, I jumped on the idea. As an English Major, during Dead Week I am usually quite literally dead because of the sheer amount of papers and reading I have to do (I don't have that many actual testing finals, just pages and pages of papers and analysis). My roommate is a nursing major and my boyfriend is an engineer, so I understand how cruel finals can be, and I wanted so badly to help ease students' stress - even if it's only slightly. Not only that, but I know that being able to take a break myself to hand out presents to random strangers would certainly ease my stress.
Anyway, I walked into our study room on Friday ready to help put these gifts together. Not being hugely involved, I don't know a whole lot of other ALDers, so I was a bit nervous. I would be here for two hours, putting candy and notes together and conversation must certainly ensue. As much as I have branched out these past couple years and as much as I have learned and become more comfortable in similar - even more harrowing - situations, I still get a little nervous every time. I used to be cripplingly shy and that's not something easily let go of. Just last night, however, I had read the first three parts of The Leadership Challenge and was inspired by my own responses. I had preached this huge importance of community and here I was going into a room where I probably wouldn't know anyone. Being aware of this, I changed my habit of shutting down (crossing my arms) and went in with the goal of meeting and talking to five new people: it's pretty specific and weird, but trust me when I add that word "cripplingly" to shy; I used to be awful.
Then, as I went in and said hi to everyone, I remembered also what I had said in my responses and in my values paper about community and shared values and interests. I realized that all of these people were here because they too wanted to help out stressed out students and that they were in ALD because they too were invited based on their academic performance. We already had so much in common. A few of them might even be thinking about how awkward it might potentially be walking up to a studying stranger and handing them candy, but that's beside the point.
Now, I'm not saying that without Kouzes and UC202 I would have panicked and run in the opposite direction. I've grown a lot in the last year and have leaped out of my tiny, little comfort zone of my past. But without Kouzes and UC202 I wouldn't have been aware of how important all of these minute realizations are. I'm so glad that I have raised my awareness (shoutout to Annie).
Also, I'll be handing out candy to any studiers on Sunday, Dec. 8th from 1-2PM! So be sure to go study :)
I'm not hugely involved with ALD because I'm so busy with a lot of other, higher priority things, but when I got the email about "You've Been Caught Studying," and saw that I had the times free, I jumped on the idea. As an English Major, during Dead Week I am usually quite literally dead because of the sheer amount of papers and reading I have to do (I don't have that many actual testing finals, just pages and pages of papers and analysis). My roommate is a nursing major and my boyfriend is an engineer, so I understand how cruel finals can be, and I wanted so badly to help ease students' stress - even if it's only slightly. Not only that, but I know that being able to take a break myself to hand out presents to random strangers would certainly ease my stress.
Anyway, I walked into our study room on Friday ready to help put these gifts together. Not being hugely involved, I don't know a whole lot of other ALDers, so I was a bit nervous. I would be here for two hours, putting candy and notes together and conversation must certainly ensue. As much as I have branched out these past couple years and as much as I have learned and become more comfortable in similar - even more harrowing - situations, I still get a little nervous every time. I used to be cripplingly shy and that's not something easily let go of. Just last night, however, I had read the first three parts of The Leadership Challenge and was inspired by my own responses. I had preached this huge importance of community and here I was going into a room where I probably wouldn't know anyone. Being aware of this, I changed my habit of shutting down (crossing my arms) and went in with the goal of meeting and talking to five new people: it's pretty specific and weird, but trust me when I add that word "cripplingly" to shy; I used to be awful.
Then, as I went in and said hi to everyone, I remembered also what I had said in my responses and in my values paper about community and shared values and interests. I realized that all of these people were here because they too wanted to help out stressed out students and that they were in ALD because they too were invited based on their academic performance. We already had so much in common. A few of them might even be thinking about how awkward it might potentially be walking up to a studying stranger and handing them candy, but that's beside the point.
Now, I'm not saying that without Kouzes and UC202 I would have panicked and run in the opposite direction. I've grown a lot in the last year and have leaped out of my tiny, little comfort zone of my past. But without Kouzes and UC202 I wouldn't have been aware of how important all of these minute realizations are. I'm so glad that I have raised my awareness (shoutout to Annie).
Also, I'll be handing out candy to any studiers on Sunday, Dec. 8th from 1-2PM! So be sure to go study :)
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Service Learning - MSU Friday
MSU Fridays are harrowing and exhausting affairs.
I am an Advocat. As I have explained before, that means that I am a volunteer student tour guide. I give regular tours every Thursday morning at 9AM to any visiting, prospective students and their parents. There are four MSU Fridays every year and Advos are required to work them. MSU Fridays, for those who don't know, are the very organized and structured days (on the organizing side of things) in which visiting families get a presentation of MSU - there are campus tours all day and a big presentation at 9AM. They have the opportunity to go to sample classes, meet with department heads, deans, the Honors College; there are presentations by the Office of Student Success, Study Abroad, and Financial Education. They get a free meal pass so they can eat on campus, in the SUB. And we, as AdvoCats, run the whole show. We don't miss any classes, though, which means that we start the day at 7AM, and work in between classes and other engagements until 4PM.
At the first MSU Friday of this year, there were upwards of 300 attendees (something like that - it felt like 600 at some points during the day). My day started bright and early at 7AM, at which time I was in the SUB practicing a skit I was to perform with seven others in front of 300 people. The purpose of the skit was to formally introduce the student AdvoCats, relay a variety of majors and years, and discuss an abundance of reasons why to come to MSU. We ran down the isles, through the chairs, from the very back of the SUB Ballrooms, jumped on stage, sang YMSU (to the tune of YMCA), and sent the microphone down the line explaining who we were and why we came to MSU. The problem was, that the Office of Admissions needed more than just the typical reasons (skiing and Bozeman), so I was up there in front of 300 people telling them that I came to MSU because of the variety of student resources and assistance on campus - trying to sound authentic. In the end, I think I did okay. Then we jumped off stage and ran back to the back of the Ballrooms.
Then, my day continued with the setting up of lunch tables and decorations in the SUB Ballrooms (after the guests had filed out and the previous set-up had been cleared away). I then had to run from there to Linfield to collect a crowd of potential Agriculture students and families so I could escort them safely and quickly back to the SUB for a sample class. This was difficult; I don't know if you have met the dean of Agriculture, but she is potentially the nicest person you've ever met: which means she talks a lot. So at 12:01 (the students were supposed to be on the move by 12), I had to step into the meeting room and relate the her that we needed to move these people out of here. Of course, she's the nicest person in the world, so it wasn't a big deal. BUT THEN, I had to move thirty people from the very top of Linfield, down a narrow staircase, up the mall, and through the SUB without losing them. To be honest, I still don't know if I lost anyone and if I did, I hope they're not still out there. The purpose of the AdvoCats, though, is to make MSU's first impression on these families. If we're rushed, unfriendly, and rude, that's how these families will remember the university. It wasn't hard for me to make conversation with these lovely people, but there was a pressure there and I was constantly worried about those in the very back of the crows whom I couldn't speak to.
Come lunch time, I was assigned to mingle. I literally had to walk up to random families, who were eating their lunches, and make conversation. This is one of those things that brings flashbacks of my old, shy self back to my mind. I worry a bit about how awkward I could potentially be and how I might find I have nothing to say. But I realized that I was there, representing my school as a leader and that I needed to just jump in. So that's what I did. I didn't give myself any more time to worry, I just picked a girl sitting with her mom and sat down across from them. And (surprise, surprise) it was actually really fun!
Long ago, in the age of high school, I, myself, attended an MSU Friday. I still remember it; I don't remember the details; I don't remember my AdvoCat's name, or any skits. But I remember it. That's why we do them and that's why I'm an AdvoCat. My Advo friends and I represent our school as leaders, as students, as community members, and we are usually the very first impression for a lot of our visitors. That's the goal, just to help these high school students decide where they want to go to start the rest of their lives. When I remember that, at the end of MSU Friday when I'm on my way home for a well deserved nap, it makes it all worth it.
I am an Advocat. As I have explained before, that means that I am a volunteer student tour guide. I give regular tours every Thursday morning at 9AM to any visiting, prospective students and their parents. There are four MSU Fridays every year and Advos are required to work them. MSU Fridays, for those who don't know, are the very organized and structured days (on the organizing side of things) in which visiting families get a presentation of MSU - there are campus tours all day and a big presentation at 9AM. They have the opportunity to go to sample classes, meet with department heads, deans, the Honors College; there are presentations by the Office of Student Success, Study Abroad, and Financial Education. They get a free meal pass so they can eat on campus, in the SUB. And we, as AdvoCats, run the whole show. We don't miss any classes, though, which means that we start the day at 7AM, and work in between classes and other engagements until 4PM.
At the first MSU Friday of this year, there were upwards of 300 attendees (something like that - it felt like 600 at some points during the day). My day started bright and early at 7AM, at which time I was in the SUB practicing a skit I was to perform with seven others in front of 300 people. The purpose of the skit was to formally introduce the student AdvoCats, relay a variety of majors and years, and discuss an abundance of reasons why to come to MSU. We ran down the isles, through the chairs, from the very back of the SUB Ballrooms, jumped on stage, sang YMSU (to the tune of YMCA), and sent the microphone down the line explaining who we were and why we came to MSU. The problem was, that the Office of Admissions needed more than just the typical reasons (skiing and Bozeman), so I was up there in front of 300 people telling them that I came to MSU because of the variety of student resources and assistance on campus - trying to sound authentic. In the end, I think I did okay. Then we jumped off stage and ran back to the back of the Ballrooms.
Then, my day continued with the setting up of lunch tables and decorations in the SUB Ballrooms (after the guests had filed out and the previous set-up had been cleared away). I then had to run from there to Linfield to collect a crowd of potential Agriculture students and families so I could escort them safely and quickly back to the SUB for a sample class. This was difficult; I don't know if you have met the dean of Agriculture, but she is potentially the nicest person you've ever met: which means she talks a lot. So at 12:01 (the students were supposed to be on the move by 12), I had to step into the meeting room and relate the her that we needed to move these people out of here. Of course, she's the nicest person in the world, so it wasn't a big deal. BUT THEN, I had to move thirty people from the very top of Linfield, down a narrow staircase, up the mall, and through the SUB without losing them. To be honest, I still don't know if I lost anyone and if I did, I hope they're not still out there. The purpose of the AdvoCats, though, is to make MSU's first impression on these families. If we're rushed, unfriendly, and rude, that's how these families will remember the university. It wasn't hard for me to make conversation with these lovely people, but there was a pressure there and I was constantly worried about those in the very back of the crows whom I couldn't speak to.
Come lunch time, I was assigned to mingle. I literally had to walk up to random families, who were eating their lunches, and make conversation. This is one of those things that brings flashbacks of my old, shy self back to my mind. I worry a bit about how awkward I could potentially be and how I might find I have nothing to say. But I realized that I was there, representing my school as a leader and that I needed to just jump in. So that's what I did. I didn't give myself any more time to worry, I just picked a girl sitting with her mom and sat down across from them. And (surprise, surprise) it was actually really fun!
Long ago, in the age of high school, I, myself, attended an MSU Friday. I still remember it; I don't remember the details; I don't remember my AdvoCat's name, or any skits. But I remember it. That's why we do them and that's why I'm an AdvoCat. My Advo friends and I represent our school as leaders, as students, as community members, and we are usually the very first impression for a lot of our visitors. That's the goal, just to help these high school students decide where they want to go to start the rest of their lives. When I remember that, at the end of MSU Friday when I'm on my way home for a well deserved nap, it makes it all worth it.
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