reflection

Here at Ohio State I think it is important for almost everyone to shape their own selves into leaders wherever they want. This class has taught me that there are so many different environments that people need to be leaders and the issues they face. One thing I really enjoyed here was talking about being an ethical person in any setting. It is important that people take the time to reflect on what they do or say and if is deemed ethical. To many times there is an ethical issue that can cause conflict and stir issues. I know in any leadership position I have been in that is something I am careful of. I also learned so many techniques and styles my own classmates shared with me.
There were different approaches that I was learning of in certain situations that I have never taught of before. This tied in with appreciating differences and understanding others. That class was full of tension but it was also a reality. I think that in anytime of my life whether it be a professional setting, meeting with friends or family that I will  be faced with exposure to differences that I have to work with. This class also made me realize the privilege that I have in ways I would have never imagined. I think being aware is helpful.
 Finally, the strengths quest finder was very helpful. It allowed me to have specific areas I can check on how I was doing. I was able to recognize my strengths and use them when needed. We had some really good talks in the class that I picked a lot up from. Everyone's insight was also very helpful. Without real life applications of our discussions it would be difficult to understand it completely.

Peck'sTheory

• Stage One - Pseudocommunity:  In this stage a group may feel like things are just fine, people seem to be getting along, relationships are courteous, but it is in reality a superficial, underdeveloped level of community. Conflict is avoided and seen as wholly negative.
• Stage Two - Chaos: When pseudocommunity fails to work, the community experiences chaos as different members begin to openly vent their frustrations and disagreements. In this stage, community members realize that differences cannot simply be ignored or conflict avoided. Chaos is a challenging stage that makes many people just want to give up - but really it is the first step towards an authentic community.
• Stage Three - Emptiness: Community members learn to empty themselves of ego-related factors and embrace the needs of the group. The needs of the individual are balanced with the needs of the community. 
• Stage Four - Authentic or True Community: In this stage individuals grant each other empathy and understanding.

There are four stages of the peck's theory that help create an authentic community, The first being pseudocommunity in which I remember a time where this existed. When I was on a retreat in high school we all got to the place where we were staying. We unpacked bags and talked with everyone and met new people. Eventually we were in stage 2 which is known as the chaos stage. Soon enough people were arguing with each other about who would have what bed, who would be room mates with who. There was a burst of drama and uneasy tensions that same night. We took a while before reaching stage 3 and it was all because of one of our leaders who realized what was happening. We were not able to participate in the retreat and allow it to help us grow. the way it intended to. So we were given some time off in order to reflect and think about our current situation. We missed out on so many planned activities, group discussions and also free time to enjoy. The following day we came back together and ready to participate. We had just started as a group of people with high tensions towards each other to being able to go deep with one another and able to share things with each other. I think this is a great and common example of Peck's theory in real life.

Blog 7

Many people have target and non target affiliated identities. It can either be a privilege or a burden in your life depending on which one you relate too. For me personally I think me being a female and black are target identities. From my experience already I know women do not receive the same pay as men do for the same job. I have experience different treatment in many aspects of my life just for being a female. There is a set of standards we have set for women and I do not think its fair or equal. The average women makes 77 cents compared to a males earning of  a dollar. It is not fair that they have performed the same task and did the same work load but get different pay based on sex.
As far as my non target identity I think for me is being a christian. We are far past the crusades stage in our history. We are more open to talk about religion. I have the privilege of praying without fear or persecution. Here in America our civic religion is Christianity so I am practically protected to practice it. I am Ethiopian Orthodox and in Ethiopia people are being killed for practicing a religion. For instance, the people are dying for their faith. Their faith has been identified as a target identity that is resulting in death, I understand my privilege here in America for my freedom to practice my religion.

Blog Post 6

According to my results of my Leadership Performance Inventory I scored the highest in Challenge the Process and I scored the lowest in Inspire a shared vision. As far as challenge the process being my highest I am not surprised. I am known for finding alternative ways of doing something especially if I feel that there are more efficient ways to do so. I am usually looking to experiment different things and see the result of it. Anytime there is a chance for me to grow I love to take it. If there is an issue in any situation I like to address it and continue on from there. Leaving things unsettled or how it is can easily bother me. Now for inspiring a shared vision I know I have a hard time doing so because I am not even clear on my own vision. This is something I am very focused on right now. I feel that once I understand my own vision I am able to help others find their own. From what I have learned already about visions is that it will come in due time. I think keeping focused on my dreams and interest will lead me to my own vision and hopefully help someone else see there own. I think recording what I hope to see in my future and reviewing it once every few weeks will help me see my own vision clearer. Through several activities of doing things I enjoy I think I will be able to grow in this case.

Random Act Of Kindness

For my random act of kindness I chose to walk my neighbors home. They were both having really bad days and needed to talk to someone. So instead of riding home with my room mate I choose to walk with these two. They appreciated it so much and really wanted me to come along. I think the randomness of this makes it so much greater than even the best intentions. Especially as college students we all understand the value of time so they loved that I chose to walk and talk to them. We even got ice cream after we dropped our stuff off our houses. 

 

Blog #4

I can recall several times where I have been morally muted. I remember when I saw a coworker of mine stepping to the back to pray because it was a fasting period for them and a time to pray. For this he was allowed to stay on the clock since the prayer was only 10 minutes. I remember hearing managers make fun of him and also clock him out. They were adjusting his hours in order to cut his pay and take advantage of his labor.They were not allowed to do that and also very hurtful. I could've stepped up and let the person know they were being cheated but I didn't because I was afraid of what the management could do to me. I did't speak up and until this day it kills me that I let them do that. This is an issue because I let my own self get in the way from speaking up about an issue especially to someone who is so vulnerable.
After much reflection it made me put myself in that position. I felt so hurt to know that someone who could've stepped up and let me know what was happening wouldn't. The issue would be ongoing and unfair. They treated the person so badly and every chance I had to report it to corporate I didn't because of my own fears and the sake of my pay and also my reputation. Someone having the best interest and being just is a very important value to me so for me to do this says otherwise.

Blog Post 3

I took the age preference test which tested my ability to distinguish old from young faces and my result is described as 'automatic preference for Young People'. I don't know if I necessarily agree with that completely. I am strongly for both young and old people. Maybe even more for older people because they mean so much to me and I feel it is our job as the younger ones to treat them with extra respect and care.
 I also took the sexuality test which tested my ability to distinguish words and symbols representing gay and straight people. My data suggested that I had a slight automatic preference for straight people compared to gay people. I am not really shocked by this because my family and religion is strictly against gay people and although I am a person who tries to treat everyone equally there is a bias I have that may have made this true. 
Lastly, I took the test that was about abled vs disabled individuals. My data suggest a slight automatic preference for abled persons compared to disable persons. I would have to strongly disagree with this because I have a passion to help disable people especially because I deal with so many in my life. 
This testing does not demonstrate my preferences accurately. I was rushing to hurry and give an answer because when I took my time to see what was shown and match it I couldn't get any results. Although I understand the rush it can really mess up someones results. I also think that there shouldn't be a pattern in the test because then someone can become so focused on the test pattern and follow it and still placing the wrong picture in the wrong category like I did.

Blog Post 2

I chose this clip from the movie Freedom Writers. Hillary Swank acts as Erin Gruwell. This is a young teacher who inspires a class full of at-risk students. The entire community including their staff at their school have gave up on these students. However, Erin teaches these students to learn tolerance, apply their selves completely and even continue education past high school. No one takes her serious initially because they are very set in their own ways and don't know anything but that. One of the major things that Erin notices was the separation among each race and group of people. Their own identity is what placed them in their group of friends. She immediately broke that separation and forced the students to comply with sitting by someone they wouldn't normally sit by. This was a big challenge and even cause fights but she was determined to do this. Eventually they were able to do this alone and even without issues arising. It became a choice to them and something they wanted to do. As I mentioned before these kids were hopeless because their own community gave up on them. She came in and brought a sense of purpose that pushed these kids in a better direction. Eric assigned them work to do which was writing in these journals to share their own story the same way Anne Frank did. This is where major improvements came in when she showed them that they had more in them that they never saw. Prior to this these kids didn't take any of these talks serious.  The attitude of these kids from the beginning to the end changed dramatically. She definitely uses all aspects of the relational leadership model. Her ability to empower and bring that sense of purpose is definitely in this clip. Although her efforts were the cause of this major turn around she gives the credit to the students their selves which I think might help them to step up more and take more initiative and have more hope in their lives.

Introduction/ Blog Post 1

Hello everyone! My name is Tegest Mengestu. I am from Columbus, Ohio. I also am a second year here at Ohio State. I am a first generation student here in America. My mom is from Ethiopia and she came here and had me here. I am an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian and my church is actually located just a few minutes from campus (maybe even considered on campus).  I also am very in touch with my religion and hold it very close to my heart. I can't help but to think that I was almost forced into a leader. At my church there is a huge language barrier among the youth and the adults. This prevents so many of our kids from understanding our religion or history of our country and church. Parents are also having issues assisting children and youth in their homework and assignments. So as an older member of the youth I had to step up and offer assistance to our youth. This push I received to help so much at my church definitely started in high school for me. I attended a local catholic high school Bishop Hartley. One of our pillars was actually leadership. This was something that we were always working on from freshman year to graduation. 

After experiencing many retreats, group discussions, service projects and other things our leaderships skill developed and became apart of who we are. I began to apply the same skills in my church youth group and decided to give back to my community. I helped in the development of our English bible studies, mentor programs and also other things that help benefit our youth. My major in social work is focused on my interest of children and youth, What I decided to do was to shape our youth to become better leaders so that they are able to do the same on their own one day. However I understand there are many skills that they must all work on and recognize before becoming a confident leader. I think that leadership revolves around vision and sacrifice. As a leader I am always thinking about how important it is for me to stress somethings that may stunt these kids in their growth to their full potential. I am always reminding them to make sure they aren't always comparing their selves to other people because ultimately it comes in the way. I am usually leading the discussions we have after our lessons. I know see that they are able to hold the discussion on their own once it has been started. Seeing my kids everyday and how dedicated they are definitely the reason why I am always on top of my job. If they are interested and willing to learn then I would not want to not be able to provide this for them. As a first generation student who has a little more experience than them I feel that it is only right for me to help them adapt to two cultures and finding their self and understanding it. I understand that I always have room for improvement and am always interested in hearing feedback to better myself for others.