HDF 190: FLITE (First-Year Leaders Inspired to Excellence)

URI Minor in Leadership Studies, Center for Student Leadership Development

Core Requirement for the Leadership Minor

Learning Contract
Goal: To identify and utilize my Strengths in an organizational/interpersonal setting that
aligns with the mission, vision, values and sponsored programs and activities of URI’s
Center for Student Leadership Development

Activity: I participated as a leadership ambassador at the University of Rhode Island welcoming

days informing prospective students about the leadership program

Evidence: A photo taken at the fair in the ryan center on the first welcome day

Annotation: The leadership ambassador program that is offered is for students of any age in the
leadership program to be able to reach out and connect with new and prospective students
visiting URI. We set up a booth at the welcome day fair for three separate weekends in order to
connect with as many kids as possible. Our job is to explain what the leadership program entails,
how you can do the minor and/or institute or just even take a leadership class with no strings
attached, what the leadership institute is and why it is so beneficial, and what requirements the
program has. Now after working the welcome days I can confidently say that I used my strengths
of Empathy, Individualization, Communication, Arranger and Harmony to positively impact the
students coming to look at the school.

As my top strength is empathy, I used it to connect with as many students as possible to

make them feel comfortable. I was willing to go out of my way to invite people over and hear
their stories and connect them to the leadership program. I tried to put myself in their shoes and
tie their interests into my pitch. In addition to empathy, my strength of individualization also
shined through when I branched out from our cluster at the booth and opened myself up to
interesting parents and students. I went on my own to connect as more of a kid and less of an
intimidating group member. I used communication to articulate my message as best as I could to
allow people to understand all the most important details of leadership. Arranger came in handy
when I was trying to organize my thoughts and plan out how to effectively pitch the program to
people at the fair. I planned out the order I would talk in and who I could partner with to discuss
the minor vs. the institute. Finally I used harmony to make everyone feel welcome and bring a
calming and vibe to our booth. I made our group feel more open and inviting which in tern made
students more inclined to come talk to us.

As a first year student, I remembered my welcome day very clearly and can think back to
when I was an accepted student talking to someone at the leadership booth. I thought it was
extremely interesting and I was very impressed by the student who explained the program to me.
She was also a freshman but she was so well spoken and independent. This was one of the
reasons I connected to fast with the program. I wanted to be her and build my confidence as a
leader as early as my first year. Now, finishing my first year, I am in the same position she was
and I have the opportunity to do that same thing she did for another student. In the two weekends
that I participated in the booth, I gave out fliers, and spoke to countless kids about the
opportunities that leadership offers. I explained how good it looked on a resume and how
beneficial it is to be a confident speaker. I felt like I sparked interest in a whole bunch of students
that will be coming here in the fall and I felt that I made a difference. I feel extremely lucky to
have come full circle form being the student who was talk to, to being the leader who was
recruiting new students.

Possibly the most important strength I used during these two welcome days was
communication. In HDF I was taught important skills of communication and how to rely on the
people around me. I was able to partner with different students from my class and talk about how
great the program is. Since I had not attended institute I was able to better communicate about
the minor and its requirements. After I had explained my experience, another classmate was able
to explain the institute and their experience. Together, we effectively communicated and gave a
well rounded explanation of what these perspective students could have the opportunity to
participate in. I chose this event for my leadership contract because coming to the booth for me
sparked my original interest in leadership. I saw how interested my parents were and how excited
the students around the table where and I knew I wanted to get involved. Having the chance to
do the same for others was great for me because this experience has been the more clear example
of how the last year has come full circle.