Civic Identity

"You will gain a greater sense of how your personal skills, abilities, and interests may aide in community development leadership"

Because our focus was Urban Development, our trip encompassed a variety of service endeavors, from education to economic disparity to food insecurity to sustainability: all of which are a part of urban life. However, I found that sustainability plays a bigger role in civic identity than I expected.

The people of Buffalo are so proud of where they come from and where they live, that it makes sense that they would also care for their surrounding ecosystem and natural environment. This was present in:

• University Heights Tool Library
• University of New York at Buffalo's "Repair Fair"
• Various community gardens

We were able to get a taste of how their community deals with environmental issues and compare it to our own. Personally, I was inspired by their Repair Fair in an effort to promote zero-waste practices and their little community gardens (even though there was still snow on the ground). It made me think of how I could implement the same concepts here in Iowa City.

Overall, I believe the topic of sustainability helps bind a community together because we all share one environment and it is our civic duty to take care of it: there should be no labels that divide us.

Education is key in any community. I think my personal skills have been greatly amplified by my educational background. I was given the opportunity to learn different subjects and focus on my passion. Giving educational opportunities to community members will set them up to reach new heights. Education doesn't just create academically related personal skills; it can set individuals up with communication, professional development or writing skills.

We were able to participate in many opportunities that informed our education of servant leadership and create social change. Social Change is described as "any significant alteration over time in behavior patterns and cultural values and norms" (UIowa ASB). There is constant social change happening in many communities. Our education helped inform who we want to be.

Woo Postivity Empathy

Individualization Connectedness

Input Learner Restorative

Everyone is unique and special in the way the naturally lead others and how they communicate in group settings. Differences are apparent in a physical form, but the similarities we share underneath the surfaces is a little harder to uncover. Through this service trip we worked cohesively as a group and had few instances where we bumped heads on ideas or opinions. Why might this be the case?

The way we see ourselves as leaders and the dominant skills/abilities we posses as a group in whole are more alike than we had anticipated.

• Sixteen members encompass our group, the top nine strengths above are shared by all members. Each member has at least one of more of these strengths in their top five spectrum.
• Twenty- eight strengths make up all the top strengths of each individual in the group.
• Two out of the sixteen members posses only one strength not shared by any other member in the group.

The development and cohesiveness of our group was already present before we had embarked on our trip to Buffalo. Through the various organizations we began to see and connect the similarities we all encompass with our leadership styles. Regardless of our differing backgrounds, actions, or lifestyles we all have the desire to live in a equal, equitable place for all identities.