Club Whittier

This semester I really loved volunteering at Club Whittier. The kids had so much enthusiasm (especially the boys) and each week I always had fun. My favorite part of the whole experience was sitting down with the kids and listening to them as they completed their different project each week. From drawing posters for cancer to making a Christmas list for a charity, the kids words were always very sweet and caring. When talking with them about how important it is to raise awareness for cancer they all were engaged and shared so much compassion for the patients. I also enjoyed playing the games with the kids. It was fun watching their expression after they got a "volunteer" out. They smiled from ear to ear. Most movies portray kids as being whiney and annoying but these kids were the total opposite. Being a volunteer for this organization was comforting. I learned a lot about the kids over the past couple weeks. When I was in elementary school I never had an after-school program like Club Whittier. Considering that these kids have a blast, it might be nice for all schools to have some sort of after-school program to get kids away from the television and actively playing. Club Whittier was such an enjoyable volunteer program. I had a great experience learning from the kids and participating in their after-school activity with them.

Tunnel Of Oppression

This past Thursday I went to the Davis Annex to walk through the Tunnel of Oppression. Some of the topics discussed were "the glass ceiling", human trafficking, gender neutral bathrooms, racism, problems with the educational system, and woman discrimination. The overall feeling of walking through the different rooms was depressing and ominous. The two rooms that really stood out to me were the gender neutral bathrooms and the room of woman discrimination.
The gender neutral bathrooms are a problem faced by transgender individuals and women/men that look like the opposite sex . (Ex. a women with manly features like a deep voice or facial hair) Many times, these individuals are forced out of their own bathrooms by the public. They get called "perverts" and are rushed out of the bathroom. I never really thought about this problem. These individuals are stuck without a bathroom and have to "hold it" for hours until they get home. I was pleased to find that Otterbein has quite a few gender neutral bathrooms.
The room of woman discrimination was filled with words that women commonly get described as, like bitch, fat, whore, boob job, facelift, etc. These words were so offensive to me and I was just standing in the room. As I looked around the room, I thought back on the words that my friends use, particularly my male friends. They tend to make jokes that involve women being described by these words. It made me sick to know I just let my friends use these words. I definitely need to take a stand to not let people use these offensive words.
I really liked the Tunnel of Oppression. It made you think about your life and how you can make a change to a world filled with many oppressions.

Leadership

Before entering this class, I could never really put together a definition of leadership. Through this class I have learned that leadership is not pertained to just a simple definition. It encompasses learning from others, analyzing data, caring for others, and being yourself. In high school, I was involved in different organizations like athletics, National Honor Society, and various clubs. I held different titles like vice-president, student representative and captain. After reading the different chapters of our leadership novel and hearing the speakers, I'm not sure I possessed the true characteristics of a leader. I didn't change anything, I was just another person in a position that had been around for years. I still continued to be myself and cared for others but never left a mark. Realizing this, I want to become a better leader. I want others to become inspired by me.  After I graduated high school, no one remembered what I had said or done. A leader is someone who, in my opinion, should be admired and remembered. They should go out of their way to create an outstanding organization. In today's world, businesses have to stand out to thrive; and a proper leader is at the foot of their success. The women we've had speak, have had much success. They've devoted their life to leadership, even if that means taking the hard road. This class has taught me to be more outspoken and fight for what you want. Women have a disadvantage in the workplace. It is time we change this. This class has become a vital asset to knowing what leadership is and how to accomplish it.

"When Dames Bond, Dames Thrive"

Last night I attended the "Dames Bond Networking Event" in downtown Columbus with President Krendl and eight other ladies from our Women and Leadership course. The event was focused around "being green". Two women business owners talked about their services and provided some successful tips to advertise your business and protect the environment. Different vendors provided "green" products such as mineral makeup and cleaning products. President Krendl also spoke about Otterbein's up-and-coming mentoring program. Inbetween the speakers, prizes were raffled off to Dame's Bond members. Looking back, I really enjoyed this event. The enthusiasm the women provided to become a successful woman was outstanding. I talked to four women after the speakers concluded. The women suggested to have fun in college, become a leader in different organizations, and talk to other women about their responsibilities to encourage other women to get involved and become leaders. I believe I received some good advice from these women and will remember their thoughts throughout my college career.

Culture and Leadership

For this week's lesson, the class was assigned to read Chapter 14 out of our leadership book. The topic: Culture and Leadership. Normally, I find the readings very monotonous. However, this week's reading was intriguing. As I read about how important it is to realize other's beliefs and values based on their cultures, it made me think an aweful lot about college. My hometown is not diverse at all. Just about everyone looks the same and thinks the same. Coming to Otterbein, a very small school, I thought that it would not be very different. However, I've met a lot of different people, some from England, some from Sri Lanka, some from China, and students from all over the United States. In reading this chapter, it made me think that I need to consider other student's values as I become involved in more activities at Otterbein. Even in my profession (Nursing) will I be faced with cultural differences. It is very important to know about other cultures and consider their point of views. Otterbein has already taken a great step to thinking outside of the box. Through taking Integrative Study classes, students are forced to examine other methods of solving a problem. In addition the research and findings of this chapter are evident in our everyday lives. In the Latin American sector (countries like Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Venezuela, etc) studies found that they scored high on in-group collectivism and low on performance orientation, future orientation, institutional collectivism, and uncertainty avoidance. Throughout school, I've always learned that Latin Americans focus on family rather than being time oriented. They will get to the task whenever they can. This is just one example of how these studies are valid. I really enjoyed this reading and I believe it is something that I will think about and use throughout my leadership days.

Club Whittier

Yesterday I attended my fourth week of volunteering at Club Whittier. This service group involves the students at Whittier Elementary School in Westerville. As I become more familiar with the kids and their likes and abilities, I am able to better understand them. Some of the kids like to act out. For example, one child always likes to disobey the leader, Lauren. Consequently, he always has to sit out of the game portion. I really enjoy getting to play games with kids at Club Whittier. We also incorporate educational values for the children. The month of October raises awareness for cancer. This week, the children drew posters to advertise buying a .25 cent ribbon to support cancer patients. Not only do the kids at Club Whittier benefit from the physical exercise they participate in, but they are learning to be an active member in the community and their school to raise awareness for issues like cancer. Looking back, I wish I had an after-school program like Club Whittier to participate in. It's a lot of fun for the kids and volunteers!

BAC of .021

Last week I attended an FYE event that allowed students to experience what it was like to be drunk without picking up the bottle or can. The Center for Student Involvement set up an activity in the Campus Center allowing students to test "beer goggles". The task was to put on the beer goggles and attempt to walk along a straight line taped on the floor. Following that impossible exercise, I had to throw bean bags into a corn-hole board, trying to make them in the hole. This did not go well. I was way off. The impairment alcohol brings about is very powerful. I could barely walk and see clearly. Following the activities I was handed a pamphlet describing the harmful effects of alcohol. I found this FYE event very informational. I am a visual learner so it was interesting to experience what it was like to be drunk. It is something that I didn't enjoy and made me nauseous. I'll never forget the effects of what alcohol can do to your body. So next time you pick up a beer can, remember the consequences your body will be faced with!

Relationships, Relationships, Relationships

This past week in our Women and Leadership course we had 4 guest speakers. Among them was Tammy Roberts Myers. Tammy is a VP External Communications for Limited Brands. She explained to our class how she worked at a different corporation for 19 years (a business that was mostly male-dominated) then switched to working at Limited Brands about 4 years ago. The major theme that she wanted to make clear to us was about relationships. She explained that without a good relationship with colleagues, work can become very stressful. It is important to earn your colleague's respect when working with them because if there ever is a problem, they will go along with your advice with a greater ease and respect towards your opinion. I thought Tammy's presentation was very relevant to our class. Women are naturally better at developing relationships than men. So I believe it was very important for all the women to hear this, and take pride in it. It is something that we can use to our advantage to become more successful. I thoroughly enjoyed Mrs. Roberts Myer's presentation and believe it was of great importance for our class to hear and think about.

Team Leadership

This past week in our Women and Leadership class we discussed team leadership.  Two of the principles listed to improve team effectiveness were performance (task accomplishment) and development (maintenance of team).  The discussion of team leadership was relevant to this past weekend.  Otterbein's Homecoming included various sporting events to attend.  I attended the football game versus Heidelburg and the volleyball game against Columbus State College.  As I watched these games, our discussion of what it takes to be a team leader came up in my mind.  The football team struggled with team leadership. No player seemed to know what was going on throughout the game. They made a lot of silly mistakes. I do believe, however, that Otterbein's football team will improve and learn something from every game.  The volleyball team was very efficient.  Their performance and development carried the team to victory.  Every player on the floor was a leader.  They all communicated and carried out their responsibility.  These two games gave a visual depiction of our readings from last week.  On one side, what happens when a team is not effective, and on the other, how effectiveness can help a team succeed. 

Dodging the Freshman Fifteen

This past week in our leadership class we dicussed nutrition and exercising.  Dr. Lynn Esselstein introduced us to the new "food pyramid", which is actually now a plate.  I found myself thinking back on what I had eaten that day.  (It didn't exactly fit the "perfect" food plan per meal)  I thought her presentation was very interactive.  She let some students separate different fake foods into which category they belonged. This helped students get a better picture of what a typical meal could look like.  I know I definately do not want to gain a lot of weight in college so I will do my best to follow this nutritious meal plan.  (And occasionally slipping in some ice cream or a cookie) 

The following presentation was given by Dr. Kim Fischer.  Her expertise was in exercise.  (She definately fit the part too, she was ripped!)  She explained that participating in exercise is not limited to running and lifting weights.  It can include your favorite hobbies like dancing, shopping, getting involved in an intramural sport, etc.  I love to exercise so I really enjoyed her presentation on different ways on exercising and having fun.  Exercise is an important thing to take part of because it benefits your social, emotional, and physical health. 

This class has been very intriguing so far.  I've enjoyed all our speakers and have been able to relate with many of them.  I can't wait to see what other speakers have prepared for us.  Have a good day and stay healthy!

A Life in Law

This past week in our Women and Leadership Class Mary DeGenaro came and presented to us what her life as a district judge was like.  She explained the different levels of the judiciary system in both the United States and Ohio.  Her presentation was very interesting to me because my father is a defense attorney.  Throughout my life I have only heard about my father's perspective of the judicial system, which I adopted as my own.  Sometimes his opinion included a very biased view on how every so often judges are unfair and unreasonable.  The fact that my father defended the alleged (and most of the time guilty) probably played a role too.  His outlook encouraged judges to be more understanding of his client's case, depending on the severity of the crime.  Many times in misdemeanor cases he defended did the the judge give very harsh punishment.  This point of view of the court systems in Ohio was a very finite outlook upon the judicial system.

Judge DeGenaro's presentation made me more aware of the judicial system from a judge's perspective.  She explained how, even though it might not seem like it, it is a judge's duty to be fair and impartial on all matters, even if they are not in the court room.  They can not side with certain organizations that portray a controversial approach towards a certain subject.  It was also interesting when she was explaining how the process of writing a settlement to a case involved an intricate process between herself and her law clerks.  By this procedure, her opinion is reviewed by others, allowing it to be further reviewed for bias.  Her final remarks on being a woman with a professional position were ones I will never forget.  Every girl wants to grow up and have a family.  But the balance between having a career and family can often be challenging for a woman.  Mrs. Degenaro chose to cut back on work while raising her family.  This however, did not impede her success as a working woman.  I will most likely take this approach when I get older and have a family.  Judge Degenaro's words were very reassuring as I have just embarked on my college journey to become a woman in a professional career.

FYS Blog #1

Hey everyone, just wanted to test this to make sure it works!

Sadie