HDF 190: FIRST YEAR LEADERS INSPIRED TO EXCELLENCE LEADERSHIP PORTFOLIO OLIVIA MORRISSEY

1. HDF 190: FIRST YEAR LEADERS INSPIRED TO EXCELLENCE LEADERSHIP PORTFOLIO OLIVIA MORRISSEY SPRING 2012 omorrissey@my.uri.edu

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS Strengths SLIDE 3 Opening Statement SLIDE 4 Section 1: Self Leadership SLIDE 5 Section 2: Leadership Theories SLIDE 6 Section 3: Inclusive Leadership SLIDE 7 Section 4: Critical Thinking SLIDE 8 Section 5: Interpersonal/Organizational Leadership SLIDE 9 *If you do not have one outcome from each area of the Inventory completed, you may opt to choose 2 from one of the sections.

3. Signature Strengths Positivity Empathy Adaptability Connectedness Developer Values in Action Strengths Gratitude Appreciation of beauty and excellence Humor and Playfulness Kindness & Generosity Spirituality M

4. OPENING STATEMENT Through this class I have learned that all of my past experiences, in and out of school, have influenced and shaped both who I am as a person and my view on life today and will continue to do so as I grow. I now know that I lead best on a relational and personal level with other people, demonstrating my ability to include, understand, and encourage others. My strengths and my daily actions reflect these abilities and myself as a leader.

5. SECTION 1 SELF LEADERSHIP I always knew that self-respect and doing things for the greater good on a societal instead of just personal level were values of importance to me. These were values that I had acquired through various experiences and demonstrations by my family members as they raised me. By coming to URI and taking both Woman’s Studies and a Grand Challenge course focusing on wasteful consumption, advertising, and mass communication, I expanded my knowledge and views even more and tried to figure out what having these values meant to me as an individual and the ways I could continue to strengthen, support and utilize these values in doing things that make me happy. I now know that I reflect my top VIA’S in my daily life. With gratitude, I never fail to thank someone for a favor or let someone know I appreciate or care about them. My Appreciation of beauty and excellence means I am constantly noticing the wonders of nature, whether it’s by taking photos of the sky or collecting fallen leaves because I love their colors. I am hardly seen without a smile on my face, and it’s never difficult for someone to make me laugh- humor and playfulness. Kindness/Generosity, meaning I go out of my way to help others and do them favors because one of my favorite things to do is make others happy and it in turn, makes me happy as well. In any situation, I always remember to retain my faith and spirituality. Spirituality means I believe that there is a higher meaning to the universe and the things that happen to us all and I am constantly searching for the reason why and trying to discover my particular reason and purpose. All of these values form the statement that I make daily through my personal thoughts and actions. 8. Student will express a personal values statement

6. SECTION 2 Leadership Theory and Models Through our Social Change Project in FLITE, I learned to apply this theory. Our goal was to develop a resource place at URI where students can come to get informed and involved in the groups and clubs that our school has to offer. My group members and I chose a common purpose and agreed upon personal commitment to the project and to each other. For a successful project, we would need strong individual values for enlightening others about our proposition, behaving consistently, and sustaining the organization. The group values would be necessary to get others to assist us in creating this organization on campus. We would need the efforts of the heads of existing campus groups, other students, and volunteers and we would all need to collaborate with one common purpose. And finally, I learned the importance of societal values- as a URI community, we need the desire and determination for a change for our school as a whole. All of these different dimensions and values are necessary for our project to be successful. It will aid individuals in pursuing their interests and provide them with experience to carry beyond college. The increase in numbers for various groups and clubs at URI will make them more effective and capable of change and development in their particular directions. With more passionate students and groups at URI, our institute as a whole will benefit. People will feel more at home in a community, more students will get involved, and more power and desire to create change will evolve. Through this project I learned how to apply this theory personally, and how vital and interwoven each level and value of the Social Change Model are when it comes to working towards a positive change. 45. Student will describe personal application of the Social Change Model

7. SECTION 3 Inclusive Leadership / Diversity and its application to leadership Learning about relational and inclusive leadership, VIA’s, and top strengths this year taught me that everyone has something valuable to offer an contribute to a group, regardless of their similarities or differences. I believe that my possessed strengths of Developer, Empathy, Connectedness, Gratitude, Appreciation, and Kindness/Generosity evolved and flourished from past experiences before I even knew the aspects of leadership that FLITE has taught me. When my mother’s remarriage brought a step-sister of my same age into my life, I had to learn to appreciate her differences and welcome her into my group of friends, creating an inclusive and accepting new community amongst us all. As a class officer in high school I practiced components of listening, equality, conceptualizing, and valuing other’s ideas. With my newfound FLITE knowledge, I can further enhance my inclusive leadership. I will make sure to treat everyone fairly and keep an open mind when listening to other’s opinions, backgrounds, multiples frames and realities to include every individual and make them feel welcome. 66. Student will create a personal code of inclusive leadership

8. SECTION 4 Critical Thinking I have demonstrated my knowledge and application of multiple decision making techniques through in school and out of school situations. Five strategies that I have used to make decisions are Pros & Cons lists, brainstorming, picking a hand, journaling, and asking others for advice. Pros and Cons lists are my favorite tactic because I like to be able to see the side-by-side comparison of my two options. When I brainstorm, I try to come up with my ideal outcome of something and then I work towards getting that result. Picking a hand is a great method because it is simple and immediate, and once you get an answer you know which of the two you would rather do. Journaling is something I’ve done since before I can remember. Sometimes it is easier for me to understand my thoughts and feelings towards something when I write it all out. Writing has always been a release for me no matter the situation, and as a result I have a log of all of the difficult decisions I’ve had to make in the past to help me in future situations! Asking others for advice is another on of my favorites. Sometimes people are blinded or don’t see the bigger picture of a situation when they are in it, and hearing from another person is always great for adding insight or possibilities that you hadn’t yet considered in your process of deciding. 71. Student will show knowledge of at least five decision making methods

9. SECTION 5 Interpersonal and Organizational Concepts and Skills I practiced active listening during our Retreat Day for FLITE in February. Our group members didn’t know each other very well yet and we all sat down and discussed personal and complex topics such as gender, race, economic status, sexual orientation and more. It was more than just hearing our group member’s responses. Active listening meant actually taking in what everyone was saying, understanding it for what it was, and responding to it appropriately and entirely. I had to be engaged with my group members by making eye contact, keeping good posture, acknowledging them and showing them that their words were important and valuable to me. It was important to be supportive, encouraging, and patient with everyone during this discussion, the same way that I am when a friend comes to me for advice so that I can help them and make them feel better by the end of our conversation- just the way an active listener should be. 79. Student will demonstrate knowledge of active listening techniques