Keeping Your "A": A #Day7 Post

I had a professor in college - I’m pretty sure he taught my Astronomy class – who, on the first day of class, said to us, “Right now, you each have an ‘A’ in this class. All you have to do is to keep it.”

It’s the first #Day7 of 2016. An opportunity to reflect on and commit to staying in action when it comes to the things we’ve learned and the goals we have set as a result of our experience with LeaderShape.

Now, we aren’t graded on our #Day7 efforts. But remembering what my prof said to us that day did get me thinking about how right now we all have a new year, a clean slate. We have an “A” when it comes to staying in action, going after our goals, and becoming the person we want to be.

It’s a new year and I feel it. I feel the possibility of keeping my “A.” Right now, for me, it’s about being the person I say I am and say I want to be. It’s about staying true to my values, even if it is inconvenient or hard to do so. It’s about following through on the commitments I have made to myself. It’s about making a meaningful contribution to the people and organizations and ideas that I care about most.

What about you? How are you going to keep your “A” and make the most of your #Day7? We hope you’ll tell us in the comments.

#Day7: Tough Questions

December 7, 2015

The final #Day7 of 2015.

With one year coming to an end and another fast approaching, we may find ourselves pondering how the past year went and questioning what the New Year will hold.

“How did the year treat you?”

“Did you accomplish what you wanted in 2015?”

“What do you have planned for 2016?”

In our one-day Catalyst program we talk about the importance of asking ourselves meaningful and important questions. We challenge the participants to consider what questions they should be asking themselves that they currently are not. As we come to the last #Day7 of 2015, we want you to do the same.

It’s not always easy to challenge ourselves in this manner…to look within and consider what we are avoiding. But there are some pretty great things about digging into “the tough questions.”

We learn.

We learn from the question itself and from the answers we discover. We learn what we are afraid of, what is holding us back, what troubles our hearts and our minds. We learn how to be vulnerable.

We learn how to face our fears. We learn how to move forward despite obstacles. We learn how to solve problems. We learn what we care most about.

We learn where to direct our attention, resources, and efforts.

So let’s try it. Ask yourself, “What question am I avoiding that I should be asking myself right now.”

You aren’t alone in this practice. Here is what we at LeaderShape think we need to be asking ourselves right now…

Is this choice or decision getting me closer to the person I aspire to be?

Abby

Have I made someone smile today?

Kim

What do I need to let go of so that I can truly focus on what is most important to me?

Why is it so hard to show myself grace?

Kristen H.

What do I need to be doing to refresh my soul and encourage my heart?

How do I show compassion to my parents on a more regular basis?

Kristen Y.

What are the lessons I want to teach my children before they leave home?

Paul

How can I be more patient with myself and others?

How do I allow for voices different from my own to be heard?

How can I contribute to a sense of hope in our world?

Vernon

What is your question?

We’d love to know and hope you’ll share it in the comments section.

#Day7 and Community

It’s pretty awesome, the new and powerful relationships that develop during the Institute. There is a sense of community that is unique to the Institute. And it is pretty amazing that something so deep and special can be created in only 6 days together.

Then there is the task of maintaining that community after everyone has said their “see ya laters” and gone back to their daily lives. The idea of Day 7, of staying in action after the Institute, includes the community and relationships that were forged during the experience. It is up to all of us to continue the joyful work of community and relationship strengthening.

Do you still feel that sense of community with your fellow LeaderShapers? We hope so! In case a little nudge is needed in this area, we have some ideas.

Technology

From Facebook groups to group texts to blogging and beyond, technology can provide a great platform to stay connected - or at least up-to-date on what is going on in one another’s lives. Finding a platform that works for you can be an easy way to stay in touch with the community you helped to build at the Institute.

Reunions

Although there is no way to recreate what happened at the Institute, coming together with folks who have that shared experience can be energizing. And motivating! And inspiring! Whether it is a formal gathering complete with a program of events or a relaxed get-together, pulling as many people together as possible can remind us of the work that began at the Institute and compel us to continue on in that work together.

One-on-One

You don’t have to get the entire group back together to benefit from the community that was created during the Institute. Spending time with those you connected with in a more personal manner has its perks. Make time for an in-person conversation. Allow yourself to be open to developing deeper relationships.

Projects

Take action - together! The theme on day 6 of the Institute is Staying in Action. Getting together to participate in a service project, get to work on your manageable goals, brainstorm ways in which you can activate your passions can bring your closer to one another and make a difference in your community. Do something and do it together.

Are there other ways that the LeaderShapers from your session keep your community connected and active? Share them with us in the comments.

Palmer Award: Finalists Spotlight, Part 3

Each year, through the Palmer Award application process, we learn about amazing LeaderShapers who are out doing good work. Earlier this month we announced the 2015 recipient, Carolina Ruggero. Now we'd like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the work of this year's group of finalists. Here are two more of the six Palmer Award finalists:

Naomi Maisel, a senior from Emory University, is committed to ending hunger. She's taking a step towards that close to home, through Campus Kitchens Emory (CKE). The executive board is ServSafe certified, allowing them to legally handle food, purchase carrying containers, purchase dry goods, secure community partners, and organize logistics for pick-ups, drop-offs, and cooking shifts.

In six months, the group donated over 2,000 nutritious meals to four shelters and/or kitchens in the Atlanta area. These efforts are also impacting the Emory community as people are being introduced to new concepts around food, nutrition, and waste. 

Naomi's passion for her cause has only increased since establishing a chapter of CKE and she plans to continue her education, focusing on food insecurity, income disparity, and the health impacts of nutrition and hunger. 

Ousmane Kabre, from the University of Wisconsin and a native of West Africa, "envisions a restored Africa where individuals of ages are striving to take control of their education, supporting their communities, and contributing to the economic development of a nation." 

As a boy, access to education was difficult to attain and required Ousame to begin working at age 12. This experience is an influential factor on his goal for his fellow Africans to have access to education. 

Founding the organization Leading Change on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus is helping to move forward this goal. After considering some of the challenges the people of Africa face, Ousame and his teammates are working to create an IT-based library to overcome the computer gap, to extend current libraries to support higher education, and are working to establish a technical college accessible to low-income families. They have facilitated a partnership with Lycée Municipal Vénégrée and are eager to implement the first phase of their pilot program - creating a classroom of 42 students with internet connection provided by the government. 


In case you missed it, you can learn more about finalists Anastasia Ostrwoski and David Chen in this post and Alyse Ruriani and Lily Daigle here.

Palmer Award: Finalist Spotlight, Part 1

Each year, through the Palmer Award application process, we learn about amazing LeaderShapers who are out doing good work. Earlier this month we announced the 2015 recipient, Carolina Ruggero. Now we'd like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the work of this year's group of finalists. Here are two of the six Palmer Award finalists:


Let's introduce Anastasia Ostrowski from the University of Michigan.

Anastasia is eager for students to be exposed to engineering principles as early as elementary school. She wants to inspire and encourage students to to pursue engineering. Towards that effort, she and her friend Anya have partnered to become co-directors of Elementary Engineering Partnerships (EEP). They are constructing curriculum that will introduce students to important engineering concepts such as collaboration, problem identification, design brainstorming and evaluation, and idea communication. 

Anastasia and EEP have established a partnership with Ann Arbor STEAM School (A2STEAM), recruited 16 undergraduate students representing seven fields of engineering, and received funding from the University of Michigan's Center for Entrepreneurship Jumpstart Grant program. They are launching their program with 4th and 5th grade classrooms at A2STEAM.

Another of our finalists is David Chen, from York University in Canada. David is passionate that no youth, in particular those battling depression, be uninspired to overcome their hurdles. 

David and a group of 12 like-minded people from across Ontario have come together to create the organization You Inspire Youth. The team works to inspire young people around the world through "capturing people's stories through cinematic interviews." 

You can find You Inspire Youth's videos on their YouTube page. And you can view on video right here:

#Day7 and the Palmer Award

Day 7 is all about Staying in Action. So this month we are eager to highlight someone who has embraced the idea of “Staying in Action”, this year’s Palmer Award recipient and the work she has done moving her vision forward. We are so excited to introduce you to Carolina Ruggero, Institute graduate from the 2014 Florida State University session of the Institute.

“When I attended the Institute, I was a marketing major with dreams of learning the craft of video production.” Carolina Ruggera, Palmer Award Application

The Vision

To use film as a medium to give people the chance for their voice to be heard, to serve as a resource for those who feel alone, and to promote a society in which we accept and understand one another.

“With every story I share, I become more convinced that a single story has the potential to change how someone sees the world.”

The Inspiration

After staying up late one night reflecting on the kind of videographer she wanted to be, Carolina made the connection between her goals of video production and the value she places on relationships. The very next day she took her camera equipment to campus to begin filming.

“I have been able to able to further develop my personal identity and values because of experiences working on this project.”

The Results

Tell Your Story: Tallahassee (TYST) is Carolina’s vision in action. It is a video project series that allows the people of Tallahassee to tell their stories. It sounds simple, but the impact is tremendous.

Additionally, this experience has solidified Carolina’s commitment to story-telling in a documentary style fashion. This clarity has also provided the space for Carolina to invite others in this journey and has created an organization to support the project and engage the skills and talents of others in the FSU community.

Watch and Learn More
The Tell Your Story: Tallahassee project can be found on Facebook and YouTube. You can also find Carolina on the Florida State University Day 7 tumblr.