Adaptability is the characteristic I have grown the most in at my time at the Bush School. Unlike undergraduate academic assignments in which I had worked excelling autonomously, graduate level assignments required me to take a more collaborative approach. I adapted by rethinking how to approach projects and took on group roles and responsibilities that helped me grow. When I went into graduate school, I realized many of my peers operated the same way I did. Thus, I had to be flexible in my leadership and collaboration in how we organize groups, work on projects, etc. I was able to realize sometimes the best way to lead is to give up control, rotate leadership, and enable a sense of shared group responsibility. More specifically, in one of my first semester classes, I was put on a team project regarding a point of view I did not necessarily agree with and worked with people who all had strong leadership qualities. I had to find ways to both get my input in the group and help bring in clear communication and a shared vision for the project. In the end, I grew tremendously and was able to lead by supporting and enabling others in leadership positions. Ultimately, by sacrificing need for control and acting flexibly, we all became better future public servants for it and this experience will serve as a primary reason that lifelong learners remain flexible, despite difficult circumstances.

A second, yet just as crucial component to lifelong learning is being intentional in team environments and in one’s personal life. Intentionality can be defined as taking deliberate steps to advance a team and personal development. One relevant experience from the Bush School is my Capstone project. In this project, I worked alongside one of the most diverse capstone groups at the Bush School, with many from different countries, backgrounds, levels of experience, etc., remaining purposeful in planning and executing different phases of the Capstone project. Knowing some of the conflicts that may arise, our Capstone decided to meet almost weekly throughout the summer (weeks prior to the start of school), before the Capstone course officially began. In this time, we took roughly an hour each week to discuss communication and leadership styles, find out how we can complement each team members’ strengths and weaknesses, and form common goals and objectives. As conflicts arose among the Capstone group, we each committed to resolving problems verbally and maturely and remained open to leadership changes. By solidifying and implementing these commitments and agreements at the start and deliberately following through on them, the rest of the team and I definitely grew in this lifelong learning capacity.

Lifelong learners take responsibility and initiative for their own learning and go above and beyond what is expected to seek out growth opportunities. In my time at the Bush School, I have taken initiative by making it a priority to network and participate in various experiences to receive advice, learn skills, and make contacts with those in my career path – city management. This has taken shape in multiple ways. One way is through my involvement in the Bush School International/Texas City Management Association chapter (ICMA/TCMA). Originally, I joined as a member, but quickly found a leadership role as recruitment chair then as president as my first year ended. Serving as chapter president has helped me learn crucial aspects about leadership, task delegation, communication, and planning exclusively through virtual means. Another way my initiative has taken place is through networking. Networking within TCMA has brought me phenomenal career advice, terrific volunteer and internship experiences, and invaluable connections with other students and those in local government. For example, I serve on committees to help TCMA reach out to and retain young students and professionals within the field. These experiences have provided tremendous opportunity for growth and learning for a long time into the future. I intend to be in these organizations for the foreseeable future, as they both foster lifelong learning and give back to a community and career field that has helped me so much. I aspire to continually be involved in professional organizations like these in the future!

Considering my time at the Bush School both inside and outside the classroom, I have repeatedly sought out opportunities to explore new things, grow in knowledge and experience, and commit to lifelong learning. I have exemplified three core characteristics of lifelong learning - adaptability, intentionality, and initiative, through my experiences inside and outside the classroom. I will model my early career based on similar principles and a similar mindset moving forward. These applicable scenarios and involvement within various activities related to local government coinciding with academic excellence have had a tremendous impact on my graduate school experience. I hope to continue these commitments to lifelong learning well into the future.