First-Year Leadership Retreat

Allow me to begin by wishing you all a very happy Valentine's Day! I hope your weekend was full of love and romance!

I spent my weekend focused on leadership. Myself and about 25 other first-years left campus Friday afternoon to take part on the First-Year Leadership Retreat, sponsored by the Transy LEAD series. The retreat only lasted about two hour, but it was quite fun and very informative.

What struck me from the moment it started was how many other first years I had never met. Even in a "small" school like Transy you really can meet new people often.

The retreat was filled with several leadership building activities. One was the "What's your Color" personality profiling assessment. I generally dislike these type of assessments because I find that, personally, they are never accurate. This one was probably the most accurate of all the tests of this genre that I have taken, but there were still a few shortcomings. As a Green (a perfect score green at that) I should be very disconnected from my emotions. In reality, however, I tend to be quite emotional.

We also had a speaker at one point. While I can't remember his name (I have the program back in my room, but I am writing this in the Library. I will update this late with his name if I think about it), I know he is the National President of Omicron Delta Kappa- a national leadership honorary society. He enlightened us with the story of his life, and his journey through leadership. It was a very good speech. In his college years he had been a white house fellow under President Kennedy, which was extremely interesting to hear about.

We also spent some time talking about the many different definitions of leadership. Often times people assume a leader is someone with a large amount of subordinates. When, in fact, a leader can be someone who just leads one person.

I am extremely glad that Transy offers opportunities like this. It is just one of many programs that are offered to help you develop in ways outside of the classroom. It really is invaluable.

Another week down, this semester really is flying by. I can't wait for Spring Break! I actually don't think I have mentioned yet how I will be participating in the Alternative Spring Break program at Transy. I and about 20 others will travel to Washington DC and spend the entire week devoted to community service, specifically issues helping hunger and homelessness. That is sure to be a great week, and I am sure you will hear all about it. It is only a month away!

Until Next Week,

Jake Hawkins