Professional Growth and Future Goals
I am a born leader. Even when I am not looking for leadership opportunities they always seem to fall into my lap. My life has been one that is based on service to others, so I regularly volunteer for committees and extend myself to help others. It is important to me to be the best teacher I can, I regularly attend professional development sessions and implement my new learning in the classroom. However, upon starting the Teacher Leadership Master’s program at Lamar University, I was just beginning my career as a teacher leader. I had not had many opportunities to show leadership outside of my grade-level team. During team planning meetings, I normally directed the discussions. My coworkers looked to me for guidance and interpretation of the curriculum. I regularly made suggestions about teaching strategies. Additionally, I was a member of various campus committees including the Campus Performance Objective Committee (CPOC) where worked together with campus administrators and community partners to develop the Campus Improvement Plan. However, I did not view these tasks as leadership opportunities. Over the course of my studies I feel I have grown as a teacher leader. I no longer take leadership opportunities for granted. The courses here at Lamar have shown me that no matter if the leadership opportunity is formal or informal it still can have an enormous impact on student success. I also attribute my growth to the additional
Firstly, in my Academic Career, I have held a multitude of leadership roles. My sophomore year , I was a class representative for Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America, commonly known as FCCLA. It was my duty to alert members and keep them up to date regarding meetings and activities. As a representative of FCCLA, I learned how to work as a unit leader and a team member.That same school year, I ran for the district office of secretary for FCCLA. The nomination and election process, gave me the opportunity to grow and nurture my leadership abilities. It was eminently challenging; but I learned the importance of discipline and hard work. I accomplished my goal and was nominated Secretary for FCCLA. This office allowed me to meet plenty
Leadership has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I have always found myself taking on leadership roles, whether it be by volunteering or coordinating different projects for the benefit of my school or community. Taking on leadership positions has allowed me to develop skills in communication, delegation, and managing multiple tasks and deadlines. As a member of National Honor Society and an officer of Student Council, I am presented with various opportunities to show my leadership skills. For example, I have been in charge of planning multiple pep assemblies for my school. Helping coordinate blood and canned food drives, angel trees, as well as organize an abundance of fundraising events has created a sense of reliability
This has kept me out of many of the elected leadership positions in our school. However, there are many other ways that I exemplify my role as a leader. One of these ways is by being a part of athletics. I have always felt like a leader in this environment, as I have always exceeded at sports. As an underclassman, I would be the one who helped out with cleaning up, and pushed my teammates to get better. Being apart of these smaller groups allows me to feel more comfortable when leading others. I also lead the team to getting better by helping to set up practices when the coaches were not allowed to coach in the off season. This made me a better leader in everyday life as I am now a more active leader. I lead in group projects, telling people what needs to be done and when. I make sure people are on track, and do not act out. Despite not being a leader to the many, I have still been able to make a big difference by being a leader in my everyday life as an athlete and a
In my future endeavors, I would like to pursue a master’s degree in nursing as an education specialist. This specialty of nursing is something that has always intrigued me and after working within the hospital setting I know this is where I aspire to be. I believe helping current and future nurses expand upon their knowledge would be very fulfilling for me.
I occupy my time in clubs and activities that both captivate my interest and are most important for my peers and me. These include but are not limited to my positions in Link Crew, Student Council, and Senior Board. They range from Senior Class Representative to Vice President. Many of my teachers and mentors have identified a characteristic of mine as a great leader, and I wanted to improve on these skills. I don't dominate discussion or action, I simply guide it. I take all of my positions seriously and always bring my best attitude; my leadership methods distinguish me from other
In class we defined leadership as using relationships to influence others. Before I came to the Academy I believed that a person could only lead their peers or subordinates. I did not believe that a subordinate could lead their superior. In high school I had many opportunities to develop my leadership with peers and subordinates. I was an officer of National Honor Society, and using that influence and my prior knowledge of NHS activities from the year before I was able to practice my leadership with my peers. I learned how to communicate in a manner to convince them to take action quickly, but not in a way that would seem overbearing or condescending. Furthermore, I was able to be a small group leader for a number of middle school retreats at my parish. In working with sixth grade boys I learned how to deal with insubordination and chaos, and with both of these groups of people I began to understand what was needed in a relationship between a leader and a follower. Our relationship had to be characterized by sincerity and respect. In both of these activities, those that I was leading could have easily stepped back and not paid attention to anything I was asking them to do. I had to convince them that I was absolutely dedicated to what I was trying to do, and that I had their best interest in mind. When leading middle school retreats I had to be a role model and show I valued my relationship with
The professional goal that I have set for myself to achieve is to be the Head of Sports Medicine in college, which is similar to an administrative job. My primary purpose after years of studying in a major university is to become an athletic trainer at a Community College, where I will have both the option to teach and also to be an assistant Athletic Director. I had graduated from a Community College in New Jersey. Athletic training staff have a lot of influence and help every athlete to transfer and continue their education and their sport if the athlete wishes to do so. The head athletic trainer, Lisa, had helped every student-athlete achieve their goal to continue playing or go to college for an excellent education program. My professional
There have been several times where I have shown leadership here at Saint Viator. I have been a part of Service and Song every summer, where I have lead 6th through 8th graders who are interested in helping others, and dedicated in bettering our community. Every year I have been a group leader, leading them through our service trips, leading them through group discussions, and leading icebreakers. When doing this I made sure to get everyone involved and make everyone feel comfortable with each other. I also had the honor of really getting to know the kids who will one day be walking through our halls. For me being, a leader means always doing the right thing and inspiring others. Another time I have shown leadership is when I didn’t have a
It is easy to determine where you are and also consider where you want to be but looking back to where you were, is often the most interesting aspect of the journey. I am currently teaching special education at Central DeWitt High School. Along with teaching, I am also a coach and have taken on a leadership role within the Teacher Leadership Grant. Through the leadership opportunities and the skills that I have learned through the St. Ambrose Masters of Educational Administration program, I would like to become an instructional leader and motivator on a larger scale.
There have been times in my life in which I have sat back and watched things happen. I often wondered why they happened. I now realize that it is important to be a leader. Effective teachers need to take charge and make things happen. I am becoming a teacher to make things happen and not sit back and let them happen as I used to do. This is very important for a teacher to realize. I will take charge and make wonderful things happen in my classroom.
After graduating with my undergraduate degree, I knew that getting into educational leadership was something that I saw in my future. While my first master’s degree was in technology and online education, I knew that my next step was look into education leadership. Through the program at CalU, I have been able to understand exactly what an educational leader looked like through my field experiences and the projects completed through the different courses. I have also been able to compare
Over the years, I have worn many educator hats such as a Director of Resource, classroom teacher, Head Start teacher, special’s teacher, and as a teacher’s aide. My leadership experiences have not been ones in an administrative role, but I have had leadership experiences both informal and formal in nature. My years as a professional educator with a Virginia Collegiate Professional license has allowed me to teach in public settings as well as Catholic schools, at many different grade levels and for me, all of those experiences have influenced my leadership skills.
Choosing a career in medicine is my first career choice, and in many ways it is the only career choice I want. From professional athletes that we see on television, to the educators that have taught me and many others through the years, they all have committed themselves to extensive study. They have practiced countless of hours to master their individual skill set for their profession. I see myself following in the same footsteps, but as a pediatrician. I want to also master the skills that it takes to be a great doctor. It may not be simple and the outcome may not be near, but with extensive studying and practice I want to achieve and master the set of skills of pediatric diagnosis and eventually improve the medical process. This is my
Question: How has my project work this semester contributed to my development as an emerging professional?
When I first started teaching, I was told to think of a teacher who truly made me feel special. When asked to reflect on powerful leaders, I was able to remember the people who have truly modeled for me true leadership. In my academic career, I can only think of one leader who has made me excited for what was to come. My college principal, Julianne Malvueax was the most outspoken, ambitious and engaging leader I’ve known. In the week 4 discussion, I recalled describing the feeling of overall joy and excitement I felt when listening to her speak. Whenever she entered a venue, you could feel the electricity in the room. When students left her presence, we knew we wanted to change things. We knew that we were an integral part of the institution’s mission and she reminded us of this constantly. After thumbing through the resources, I realize that Malvueax was an effective leader. Not only did she get us excited, the goals she set for our institution were clear. We knew what she expected from us as