Reflecting on my progress throughout this first semester with the Public Leadership Scholars program at UMD, I have found that my perspective on leadership had evolved. Prior to joining the program I had viewed leadership as a performative thing that took an obscene amount of confidence and security. I believed that the best leaders came from the people that were the most vocal about their authority. However, over the course of this semester, I have realized that this is very far from true leadership. I have learned that leadership comes in many different forms and that I should not pressure myself to fit a role that is not true to myself. Instead, I should find leadership that honestly represents my intentions and personality.
When considering the teaching structure of this past semester, I have found online learning to be a boundary in our cohorts education. I believe that we would be able to grow much more had we been in person. Despite this, I think that the teaching team did a fantastic job in organizing classes and assignments in a way that facilitated conversations.
This past semester I have also experienced the synergy of two courses that create an interdisciplinary set of knowledge. I feel that my PLCY201 class and my ENGL222 class really intertwined this semester. In ENGL222, we discussed American Literature from the perspective of minorities. For this class I read many pieces of literature and spoke about a perspective that I was never aware of. This course work mingled very well with our discussions in PLCY201 about police brutality and leadership skills. I was able to observe the characters in my book from a different perspective where I could see their specific leadership skills.
The CPPL colloquium was a breath of fresh air in the midst of online school. I did not expect our weekly discussions of current events and the overall open platform to speak our minds. In addition, we covered many issues such as poverty and privilege. I think that all three of these topics could have used a bit more organization. For example, we could have benefitted from a set current events topic for the class and have information provided to us about the topic. Additionally, I believe the poverty activity and privilege walk could have used a bit more of a lesson on why they were important. I really appreciate all that we got to cover this semester but maybe we also could have used more in-action leadership activities.
In comparison to my high school vision of college life, the reality of this past semester was saddening due to the pandemic and my need to do remote learning. I also expected to have a few more friends by the end of the first semester. One of the main things that I find disappointing is my lack of relationship with my professors. In High School, I was always the student that enjoyed staying after class to hear untold lessons from my teachers and develop relationships with the people around me. Unfortunately. I haven’t been able to have this experience due to the online setting. My favorite medium for understanding people and building relationships is through conversation, hopefully I can experience this in Fall 2021.
As I move into the next semester and sophomore year I believe my reflection will drastically change. Just as I am rapidly changing and growing as a person throughout college, my outlook will evolve with me. I especially think that in my sophomore year I will see the most growth, since I will be on campus and in person. I hope that this reflection changes, because that means that I am learning and growing as a person.
The COVID response from the school has pretty much fit my expectations for this semester. I expected these online interfaces and the asynchronous lectures. What hasn’t fit my expectations for this semester was the way that PL has handled the conditions. I think that the teaching plans for this semester made the best out of an unfortunate experience and I think that I was able to learn better thanks to that.
I have remained involved in my community throughout this semester thanks to my remote learning. I believe that being a part of UMD does not take away from my life in New York, it only adds to it. UMD the place where I hope to learn and find opportunities but I am still very much tied to my hometown community. Especially this semester, where I worked about 12 hours a week tutoring K-12 students. This has really kept me in the know for my community and high school.