Describe your experience with the Jaguar Leadership Network. Specifically, what were your key responsibilities? What issues/needs/or critical questions did your program or project address? For whom/what was this project/program important? Why was it important? (Please write between 150 to 300 words)

Throughout my college year, I had some of the most enjoyable and engaging experiences of my life with Jaguar Leadership Network. I've learned how crucial it is to have social interaction, time management, organizing, etc. during semesters. My main responsibilities were to attend the meeting, be prepared, maintain my GPA, finish the requirements, and turn in assignments on time. The program's focus was on maintaining mental health and responding to stress. It was crucial for me because I constantly worry about everything, which frequently stands in the way of my success. Stress is one of the main things that cause my chronic symptoms, so learning how to manage it with the meditation techniques we practiced in class and reading about emotional controls in articles about our automatic system really helped me maintain the stability of my mental health in the long run.

In what ways were you able to connect your previous educational training (e.g., academic courses), extra-curricular experiences, and life experiences with the activities and professional development required of the JLN experience to deepen your understanding of your field of study? (Please write between 150 to 300 words)

Through completing the strength finders, adjusting my social skills, attending fairs, and other required activities, I was able to make a deeper connection with the life experiences and activities of the JLN experience, which deepened my understanding of my pre-nursing career. I have always been an extrovert when it comes to life experience, but I don't often make new friends who are foreigners because I find it more difficult to approach them. It was really uncomfortable at first interacting with strangers, but all of a sudden I realized how much I actually had in common with other people and how much fun it is to interact with strangers, regardless of differences upon attending the meeting. Since then, I've been interacting with more classmates from my Pre-Nursing Prerequisites classes and we've been supporting one another. I was also able to learn more about how to polish my resume, how to get ready for interviews, and what qualities employers might be looking for in a candidate. This gives me a better understanding of what my future might hold once I finish my bachelor's degree and enter the workforce. My body was experiencing a slight sense of relief from burnout when I was practicing mindfulness techniques for an extracurricular in class, and this helped me realize how this could benefit me in the future in my nursing career. This technique will help me feel more relaxed after my shift when I'm feeling overwhelmed. Nurses must provide intense movement and care to patients, among other things. I was able to gain a better understanding of how listening to patients and becoming someone they can trust with their lives motivates me to become a better active listener and prioritize their needs over mine when we discussed the significance of listening to problems.

 Describe the extent to which your experience provided opportunities to engage and learn from different communities and cultures and to the extent this influenced your attitudes and beliefs. (150-300 words)

During my experiences going to certain events, I was able to get a better understanding of people from different backgrounds. For instance, I didn't know what the day of the death was about when I went to attend last year. But when I recognized how much we had in common, it truly inspired me to learn about other people's cultures and try new things. Since then, I have been incredibly appreciative of the diversity within our communities, which has allowed us to unite and learn more about one another's backgrounds and worldviews. We must accept and value one another for who we are, despite our differences, and refrain from discriminating against minorities because we have no idea what their experiences have been like.  While looking for events to attend to, I also came across about how women used to be treated very poorly due to our gender. Having to compare compensation between both genders has made me realize just how difficult it was to be a woman in the past. Furthermore, as I take a step back and focus again, I see how our university is making an attempt to raise awareness of how important women's rights have become.  Overall, being able to experiences these issues/cultures has made me wonder how I can contributes more to my communities and the importance of acknowledging each other backgrounds regardless of who we are.

How would you evaluate your contribution to this experience? What strengths or skills did you utilize or develop while engaging in this JLN experience?

I would say that because I was able to complete the requirements and often conversed with people I had never spoken to before, my contribution to the experience was somewhat very engaging. During my JLN experiences, I made use of my communication, interaction, and listening skills. I used to be terrible at expressing my opinions because I was afraid of being judged for them, etc., but I eventually came to the conclusion that no one genuinely cared and that people would accept my ideas without having preconceived notions about particular subjects. Because we were instructed to socialize with people we had never connected with, I was also able to interact with a variety of people from different backgrounds, which really helps me in my other classes. I was willing to talk to more people and was less shy when doing so. Attending meetings made me realize how crucial it is to maintain professionalism in all circumstances and to learn how to actively listen in conversations. 

Describe at least one challenge you faced during this experience. How did you address and overcome this challenge? (Please write between 150 to 300 words)

Finding appropriate experiences for my engaged learning has been difficult for me during this experience. I have looked everywhere I can, but because of my major and year, I have never been successful in finding anything. Although I haven't fully overcome this obstacle, I have addressed it by communicating with our coordinator via email on a regular basis, speaking with a career counselor, and consulting an advisor to help me locate experiences that are appropriate. Though it was really challenging to start, I don't think I will give up until I have tried everything because I think there is always a solution out there. Also, because I had never seen or experienced anything similar before, using the JLN website was initially very confusing for me. But after watching the offered videos and interacting with the websites consistently, I was able to get past my problems and now I've started to adjust to this template.