Brianna Wallace UNIV 392 Final Reflection Final Integration Project Running from Chemistry lab last spring,

I had no other thoughts in my mind other than the previous quantitative analysis experiment and the fact that I was going to be late for my Orientation Leader interview. I dashed into the foyer of McCormick Lounge and slipped into heels and a necklace. I gathered my bearings and waltzed through the doorway, confident of my ability to express my positive qualities and passion for leadership. A woman walked past me, did a double take and said, You know you have goggles on, right? Mildly embarrassed, I took off the goggles and walked up to the check-in desk. Little did I know that the flexibility to take crazy situations (like wearing goggles to an interview) as they come and turn these events into opportunities for leadership was a quality essential for the unpredictable days of an Orientation Leader. When starting the Orientation Leader (OL) experience, I knew that I wanted to develop as a leader, better live out Loyolas mission, and make close connections with those on the Orientation Team. After starting to read the class texts, I had decided how to make my learning agreement goals SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely). I wanted to connect with those on the Orientation Team by finding something in common with another OL weekly. I am happy to say that Lexi and I both love the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, Marshall and I are very passionate about education reform, Weston and I both love the television show The Nanny, Philip and I like to listen to French pop music, Adi and I love to sing, and Nicole and I both struggled in General Chemistry. By keeping this goal in mind while interacting with others, I made a conscious effort to talk to an OL that I might not know as well as some of my close friends. It is sad to think that, if it werent for the OL position, I might not have gotten to know some of these amazing people, especially the upperclassmen. My second goal was to train myself to seize more leadership opportunities in the Jesuit tradition by reflecting on those that I took advantage of and those that I missed each week. One of the leadership opportunities I am happy to have taken is when some OLs on the transfer team were out sick and Mary

Brianna Wallace UNIV 392 Final Reflection Final Integration Project and Chelsea asked for help from the SEaL students. I rescheduled some of my appointments to earlier in the day so that I could participate in the student panel. I did not realize how much I missed Orientations until I was talking with parents and answering questions, helping others. My third goal was completely for my own development: enhance my leadership skills by completing leadership and personality assessments. I worked with the Office of Student Leadership Development, took the Myers-Briggs assessment, and discovered that my letters are ENFP, with a strong preference for Extraversion and Feeling, and a moderate preference for Intuition and Perceiving. A well-rounded view of my personality is solidifying through the assessments. My True Colors Blue qualities reveal themselves more and more as I take on a supportive leadership style in consoling and nurturing incoming freshman students. Working in groups for class presentations allowed me to put those traits to the test and see how I function as a leader and as a member of a team. Baltazar, Marie, and Anthony were amazing to work with. We each brought our own unique traits to the table, complementing one where the other was weaker. We all had great ideas for our presentations, especially the case study, but had to learn to choose one main idea. The topics and presentations were modified and enhanced so that, though we each had our own individual tasks within the assignment, the concepts and execution were products of the team working together. I personally felt that I received the portions of the presentations that I felt the most affinity towards explaining to the class, whether it was Northouse chapters, or the finer details of the case study. I do not know if it was the group assignments or the fact that we had each discussed how to interact with people of leadership styles different from our own, but this class presented the most enjoyable group work experience I have ever had. Being a Biology major, there is not much room in the coursework for group assignments, so this is the first group experience I have had in college. Needless to say, it has been an amazing experience to work with my group, and I felt that all of us contributed equally and cohesively to the assignments.

Brianna Wallace UNIV 392 Final Reflection Final Integration Project I have always prided myself in the fact that I attended a Jesuit university built on a code of strict values, and perhaps even more so that I attended leadership seminars and workshops on how to execute those ideals in a variety of ways. Through class readings, I discovered an entirely new understanding of the different styles of leadership and how to apply them to my position as an OL and in everyday situations. Personally, I take from a mixture of leadership theories, recognizing that a leader can be made as the skills approach dictates, but must have the innate desire to become a leader and develop those traits. A leader must be flexible like in the situational approach, changing their leadership style as the situation calls in order to motivate the subordinates. The leader must do so in a transformational manner, ensuring that both the followers and leader are left with stronger moral values. Though understood in relation with Orientation, these theories can be applied in any leadership situation, especially helping others develop while simultaneously completing difficult tasks in the workplace. It is not always enough to simply manage ones subordinates. Supervisors encourage transformational workplace experiences, increasing employee motivation and satisfaction with their environment. In the Lowney text, the Jesuits exhibited great leadership through self-awareness and reflection, and developed leadership skills on a daily basis. Even more applicable to everyday life are the concepts of magis and the integration of Ignatian obedience, heroism, and ingenuity. Giving "magis," or more, into any project will yield greater results, and the trailblazing heroism of the Jesuits can offer great insights and fresh ideas to any task. What I found exceptionally interesting was the Ignatian characteristic of being obedient enough to tackle difficult tasks, but having the skills and confidence necessary to complete the task autonomously and with great creativity. This is an essential skill in any workplace. A supervisor will have a vision or basic idea for a program, and it will be the leaders duty to execute the details in a creative manner. Like DeNobili or Francis Xavier, the leader in the workplace will be expected to gain the skills of ingenuity and flexibility in order to complete the task. These

Brianna Wallace UNIV 392 Final Reflection Final Integration Project transferrable skills learned from the internship course and exercised during Orientation are intrinsic in the workplace, no matter the professional field. Moreover, recognizing leadership traits and learning to enhance those skills in a variety of work settings is crucial, not only to personal leadership development, but to help encourage and motivate those around you most effectively. Perhaps absentmindedly wearing goggles to my Orientation Leader interview was the first step in developing my skills as a flexible leader, ready to tackle any situation with heroism and autonomous ingenuity.