Program Reflection

LeADERS at a Glance

At Old Dominion University, students are offered an enriching and engaging program called LeADERS, offering experience through courses, internships, and learning experiences in (l)eadership, (a)cademic internship, (d)iversity, (e)ntrepreneurship, (r)esearch, and (s)ervice learning. The "e" in LeADERS stands for ePortfolio, which is what this website functions as for me. Each of these fields offers authentic, real-world experience, and I have this experience in six of the seven areas:

Leadership- TESL Methods and Materials
ePortfolio- both for LeADERS and through other course requirements
Diversity- Gender and Philosophy
Entrepreneurship- Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship
Research- Technical Writing
Service Learning- Ethics, Governance, and Accountability

REFLECTING BACK

There were many factors that pushed me to join LeADERS program at ODU. One of the biggest motivators for me was knowing that my participation in LeADERS designated courses would help me develop indispensable skills for my post-graduate life. As per its namesake, it is expected that through the program I grow my:

leadership abilities,
knowledge and appreciation of diversity,
capacity for entrepreneurship,
research skills, and
ability to join experience and theory through service-learning.

Yet, this was definitely not the extent of what I have gained! By nature, I developed my writing abilities, especially on digital platforms, which better prepare me for my future as a technical and professional writer. Additionally, I have learned how to better reflect on my educational career. This not only reinforced the newfound knowledge into my long-term memory but also reminds me of how far I have come as a student--allowing me to appreciate my abilities and my worth when I otherwise might not have taken the time to do so. For this, I owe a great deal of gratitude towards the LeADERS program and community.

Inevitably, my time in the program wasn't perfect. My LeADERS courses were some of the most challenging courses I have enrolled in, yet it was through these challenges that I learned to overcome. As a part of the fulfillment of the Leadership aspect of the program (and to satiate my own interests), I enrolled in ENGL 390: TESL Methods and Materials, a course teaching fundamental skills for teaching English as a second language. This course functioned asynchronously online. This meant that peer collaboration and communication are somewhat limited compared to the traditional in-person class setting. I thrive from these sorts of interactions, so the lack of them made me feel distant from the course and professor.

One aspect of the course involved conversation, namely with foreign-language speakers who wanted to better their English skills. To fulfill this requirement, I involved myself in ODU's conversation partner class, which consisted of students from Latin America, Haiti, China, and more. The challenge? Speaking with novice English speakers while having no personal understanding of their primary languages. Yet, these speakers wanted to learn English no matter the challenge, and their tenacity and resilience pushed me to be more supportive and open. What started out as a great feat ended up becoming one of my most valued life experiences.

Despite hardships, the LeADERS program also gave me myriad opportunities for success. As a major requirement and for the fulfillment of the Research aspect of the program, I enrolled in ENGL 334W: Technical Writing. This writing-intensive course provided ample credible resources on document design that are otherwise hard to come by. I learned about efficient use of white space, simplifying text for the non-professional, and other essential information for technical writing. Yet, the overarching theme for me was the concept of writing for the reader. Countless times have I read over my own work and realized what I write will only make sense to me, forcing me to go back, keep the audience in mind, and rewrite. This course taught me to skip the first part of that cycle and always keep the audience as the motivator for every word. That is how I was able to succeed in that course, and that is how I will succeed in the future.

Each course taken and each experience gained was unique from each other in a plethora of ways, but more often than not I found more similarities between the courses and overlaps in my education. As an interdisciplinary major student, it is the goal of the university for me to grow my communication skills-- my courses provided various skillsets in all forms of writing, so I have experience in rhetoric as well as digital writing, linguistics as well as creative writing. Ultimately, my major in professional writing and my participation in LeADERS emphasized abilities in all of these areas.

For instance, as a part of my fulfillment for the philosophy minor and the Diversity aspect of LeADERS, I enrolled in PHIL 402: Gender and Philosophy. For my first exam, we were given a prompt using quotes from different readings we had studied thus far and had to choose one that we would analyze, apply (to other readings we had studied), and commentate/evaluate. I chose to write on Michel Foucault's Discipline and Punish, a book on power and penal institutions, and applied it to Sandra Bartky's essay "On Psychological Oppression," outlining how the oppression imposed upon women becomes internalized and perpetuated by systems of power. Though the topics were seemingly unalike, through my research I was able to find that there was an actual exchange between Foucault and Bartky, in which Bartky felt Foucault was intentionally leaving out women in his description of modern panopticism. I no longer was analyzing the works individually, I was evaluating them collectively, as a part of a larger dialogue on power institutions and their effects on the internal (the psyche) as opposed to the external (the body).

"The true reality of the situation does become mystified to the subordinate, and they begin to behave as the dominant wishes as a result of this mystification. The dominant force, consequently, fabricates the reality for the subordinate, thereby fabricating the person and their place within this imagined reality. It is clear that while Bartky and Foucault focus on different bodies of people, the same power play is what is emphasized in both."

Though these topics focused on gender and the power of penal institutions, I kept finding myself reminded of a work I completed for my Ethics, Governance, and Accountability Course (fulfilling the Service Learning aspect of LeADERS). I wrote a brief essay on governance and how it applies to the policy area of education, emphasizing what roles each level of government should have in education. When analyzing the executive branch's roles and responsibilities in this policy area, my research kept falling back on this idea that this particular branch seems to guide itself as a business might, and might intentionally impact the education system to better suit its own needs:

"This branch, in particular, has the tendency to run itself like a business, and this drive for productivity might push the branch to steer rather than serve the education system. They should have less to do with the specifics of the educational systems and more to do with financial assistance, yet executive offices currently seem to have a say in the goals of the American education system, dangerously pushing us to some sort of 'national school board,' as Marc Tucker writes for The Hechinger Report."

Thus, I was able to see my education come full circle, tying in diversity with service learning. Not only could I draw similarities between the two assignments, but I am regularly recognizing this power pattern in every aspect of my life-- showing how my education in these fields has positively and permanently impacted me.

LOOKING FORWARD

As I approach graduation, it is inevitable that I begin to look forward on my future, requiring self-discipline and goal-making in order to put my education and experience to work. For many, the ultimate goal is to become successful, whether that means financially or socially. For me, I think my goals are more personal than professional. When I graduate, I want to take everything I have learned so far in life and try and apply my knowledge whenever I can. After spending so much time in education, I would regret letting any of this go to waste, so I plan to apply myself and my skills whenever the opportunity arises.

Professionally, I plan to become a technical or professional writer, likely focusing on technical documentation, professional communication, editing, copyrighting, and the like. My plan is to take a year off from school after my graduation and take contract jobs to build up a repertoire of professional experience, as I have not completed any internships or work experiences so far in my field. Once the year is finished, I will reassess these goals, but I may choose to continue my education and pursue ODU's Online Master's Program in Technical Writing (M.A) while simultaneously trying to find a stable career in the field.

I have grown up loving school, and I would probably continue to go my whole life if I could afford it. Yet, I know I have gained enough knowledge through the LeADERS program and its designated sources to begin to enter the career world. Many of my experiences in LeADERS have been indispensable, such as my experience in Teaching English as a Second Language (Leadership course). In this class, I learned how to teach English to foreign-language speakers; I wrote lesson plans, I invented games, I created a teaching philosophy, I assessed textbooks, and much more. Though I don't see myself becoming a full-time teacher in the near future, this was great practice for technical writing! I was able to step inside the shoes of a teacher (using my minimal experience as a student) to author original content in the field, eventually uploading my works to this very portfolio. It is these experiences that LeADERS granted me that leave me feeling prepared and eager for what my future holds.