TALK Lessons Learned

I’ve spent nearly half of my life living in a largely white suburb in Minnesota. Despite the differences, I have always found a way to blend in with the community, and I have never felt as though my race has been a major burden on me. However, one of the regrets that I have is that I really take my community for granted. Many other Somalis in this state and around my community are refugees that don’t have the same access to education or jobs as we do. Sometimes I thank God for the comfortable situation that my family and I are in. Many minorities in the state and in the country aspire to have a good life with kids and a front yard. But with racial disparity in the way, it’s not always easy having that dream. To me, the best way people of any race can do that is challenge themselves and work to their goals. It took my dad more than a decade in America to finance and study in order to get his bachelors and master’s degrees. While it’s no guarantee that one could work and achieve success in this country, it’s always worth

You see a girl with brown eyes, chestnut hair, and you notice she is slightly above the average height. On first glance, she seems ordinary, maybe slightly above standard. However, your impulsive expectation couldn’t be more wrong. While she is involved in orthodox activities in her school; playing basketball, regularly attending scholar’s bowl meets, and holding the office of secretary in her FFA chapter, she steps up to be engaged in statewide and nationally renowned events that helped shape her into who she is today.

Kanawha County Teen Leaders: Over 4,000 hours of service to community since 2010. The service mainly falls into three categories: staffing educational kiosks at Health Fairs and Science Events; counseling and teaching at afterschool sites, day camps, overnight, and younger residential camp; and improving camp facilities during camp clean-up events. Recent survey regarding teen leader overnight event indicated that they were part of the decision-making, felt safe with other campers and staff, felt accepted by other and felt they could freely express their opinion. A survey sent to all who were county teen leaders during 2010-2015. The results indicate that they increased leadership and life skills and that elements of positive youth developments were evident within the program.

Throughout my high school career I have encountered the chance to experience the position of being a leader for my peers. I have pursued leadership skills by being an officer in HOSA for three years, leading community service events for NHS, and taking charge on running school events in Key Club. I have obtained valuable leadership skills throughout my high school career, and encouraged the club members to take charge and develop leadership skills to help them in the future.

At the beginning of my freshman year, I joined the future educators’ club. I wanted to be a teacher, and after hearing about a full-ride scholarship to St. Francis that was being offered to members, I signed up. Although I was the youngest person in the club, and there were only about five of us, I continued attending. A few meetings passed, and I asked about the opportunity. This moment exposed me to the other side of the racial spectrum. Unfortunately, I was told that I was ineligible for the scholarship because I was Caucasian. In order to qualify, I had to be a minority. I suddenly realized that although there is a vast amount of racial injustice, there are also opportunities for minorities that are not offered to whites. Even though I might earn the same grades as someone of a different ethnicity, I was not given the chance to participate. In my mind, that doesn’t

I have developed many leadership skills throughout my life, from the skills I learned by participating in NJHS and Student Lighthouse. Along with the leadership techniques I have learned in school I have learned even more out of school. Via the National Youth Leadership Training program (NYLT) where I learned how to become a better leader and the best methods on how to do so while I camped in the woods for a week and put them to use. As

In order to do so I needed to learn how to be an effective leader. Thus, I ran for National Honor Society President and won the election. This has increased my people skills; I can communicate with officials easier because I am more confident and assertive. This increased my ability to be a problem solver and taught me how compromise. It informed me that other people will have opinions that differ from mine. However, it’s important to listen to them because those different opinions could be better than mine. Other than being National Honor Society President I have had other leadership positions such as creating the year round freshman mentoring program at my school. Taking my idea to an actual successful organization has taught me patience and discipline. This also forced me to plan out every single detail, handle public questions and concerns, and persuade my officials that my plan was worth funding. I created contracts, rules, and guidelines for this mentoring program. Everything I have done has improved my abilities and skills. Every organization I joined, every class I have taken, and every choice I have made has been to achieve my end

First, I learned that even in failure, there are still lessons we can all learn. Instead of blaming someone and thinking nothing can be done, one should

Being a minority and coming from a first generation immigrant family, it can be difficult to think about my future because of what I’ve grown up around. I acknowledge that i’m an intelligent woman, but my surroundings made achieving greater things feel strange, or like something I shouldn’t be striving for. In James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time, the first letter My Dungeon Shook was aimed specifically for his nephew but is easily a message for people of color and really for anyone who is struggling with self doubt.

An application is required as well as a résumé. I will submit both within the required time, which is one week. I will receive an automatic email response from Rutgers Leaders regarding the completion of these tasks.

For the past two years in the summer, I attended a week-long leadership coaching for marching band where I used creative thinking to solve conflicts. Besides that, I worked a customer service associate for Walgreens. Because I could not drive, I walked for 20 minutes each day and learned to be responsible for time. While standing at the main register, I greeted each entering customer (“Welcome to Walgreens!”) and developed a clear, resonant voice. By communicating with a variety of customers, I developed my social skills in understanding diverse accents and formulating quick conversations. Most importantly, I went on a “vacation” with my family. Due to job and financial conflicts, our family never went on a trip since I was in second grade.

Surviving in the ghettos was, because my grandfather had passed and my grandma had to move in the low income area. Where I experienced racism from Black by being called an Oreo, half breed, or want to be Black (Henderson, 2003). This book opened my mind to overcomer other people in sureties about me, my knowledge, and abilities. In the past ten years all I have been getting from jobs I applied for with the skills to match is rejection. Including the colleges and jobs I either attended, or still going to, or employed. My family and friends read my resume only to say “you are not going to get that job” and I said “why not?” They said because you have too many skills and the people would be afraid you would move them out the way. I really never looked at in that way but again the BQS lead me to believe it is that way. However, I was still able to function in the world as a doer, mover and

During the summer after my junior year, I attended the Michigan American Legion Auxiliary Girls State program at Michigan State University, which is a program aimed at helping young ladies become better citizens. I had to once more leap out of my comfort zone to attend this program, but I had no idea what was in store for me once I got there. During the short week I attended Girls State, I discovered who I was and who I could be. My newly made friends encouraged and pushed me to aim higher and try harder. They supported me while I swallowed my nerves before giving many speeches to over 300 girls. The girls there taught me to fight through my fears and go for things, even when failure ensued. I lost elections, stumbled in speeches, and did not make positions I hoped to, but still they wanted me to keep going. I discovered that failure was okay, and my friends still supported me and encouraged me to keep going after failure. I learned that, by taking that leap, I could accomplish things I had only ever imagined

The lesson I learned was that if you can dream then you can do it. This has changed me in to a more compelled person to do more things that I think are impossible

As Vice Chair of Membership, NikaIl Francis is honored to have the opportunity to serve the Freshman Leadership Council (FLC). As a previous council member herself, she is inspired to pass on the valuable experiences of FLC to future gators. Her experience as a previous council member has inspired her to utilize the skills obtained to invest in others. Nikail has discovered a passion for programming and planning after serving on the Freshman Relations Committee her freshman year in the council. She is confidant in equipping the 2015 FLC Council members with the fundamentals of leadership and service along side her impeccable director team. She is determined to lead the membership council with efforts to influence a presence of leadership