Week 4: Communication

Tonight's session started out with a discussion surrounding "What is communication?" Students were asked to take a communication quiz where they were instructed to read all of the instructions before they proceeded to answer the questions. Take a look at the Communication Quiz and see if you can see where many students made the mistake. After the quiz, the discussion was based around the importance of communication and what they thought were the most important aspects.

Students broke up into smaller groups and discussed how they think that they are perceived through their communication. The question was asked "Should leaders be held to a higher standard?" Following the discussion we created "The Big Debate: Should leaders hide their emotions?" The room was split into two groups with one side for and one against. During the debate, a few students were discretely asked to observe the tone, body language, articulation, and use of filler words (like, um). The students debated and the observers reported out what happened within their groups.

The final activity involved everyone pairing up with another person. One person had a picture of geometric shapes, and the other did not. They were instructed to sit back to back to each other. The partner with the drawing was to instruct, to the best of their ability, directions on how their partner can draw the picture. There was a small debrief about how it can be tough to hear people and easy to miss small details because even those can make a big difference sometimes.

Agenda
Evaluation
Communication Quiz
Communication Story
Geometric Shape Activity
Geometric Shape

Week 3: Time Management

Caroline Horste was our guest facilitator. She had the students identify all of the time throughout the week that they spending doing different activities. She then had the students rank them in order of importance and add them to their "priorities bucket."

The group talked about procrastination: the reasons why we put things off, and the effect it has on productivity. She ended the session giving some time management tips and strategies and a reminder to keep busy schedules balanced.

Time Management Strategies

1. Log your time
2. Stay organized
3. Learn to say no, or to delegate
4. Try out the "therapy hour"
5. Patero's Principle. What's your 20%?
6. Prioritizing using intentionality
7. Recognize when you're procrastinating
8. Be aware of your strengths as well as your weaknesses and come up with concrete strategies to address this

Agenda
Evaluation
Values Article
Carolines Presentation

Week 2: Values

Guest Speaker: Casey Krone

Week 2 is focused around the discussion of Values. We started the evening talking about where our values come from. Each person is different and have had their own unique life experiences and those experiences help shape each individual and their values. Family, Friends, Community, Neighbors, Teachers, and Religious Leaders are the most common to influence certain values in your life. Participants worked on figuring out what their most important values are. We then broke into small groups and came up with a "Top 3 Values" list.

When Casey came in she presented us with some Case Studies. The purpose behind the activity was to promote conversations based on how the values that we say we each hold play a part in the choices that we make, especially those of moral.

Agenda
Evaluation
Values Ranking
My Values System
Ethical Ranking
Instructions for Consensus and Ethical Ranking Activity

Week 1: Introduction

Quote of the Week:

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." -John Quincy Adams

Week 1 is an introduction to the Emerging Leader Series. Participants go through a general overview of the 8 week curriculum as well as the expectations of the facilitators as well as the participants. They also sign a learning agreement stating that they will hold themselves accountable with being on time, being prepared, and being "present."

The participants take part in an activity that is called "Tell Your Story." Each student is given a large piece of flip chart paper and asked to put their story, whatever and however that might be, onto the paper. We then go around and share our stories with the group enabling us to break some of the barriers and walls that may have been put up when entering a new environment.

There is a weekly self-reflection and evaluation activity that occurs where students think about that weeks session and the information obtained from it. This is a chance for the students to let us know what they like and what they didn't like and what they think works or doesn't work.

Agenda
Evaluation
Tell Your Story

Student Organization Homecoming Tailgate

Participation: 17 Organizations
Cost:
Dates: September 21st, 2013 
Location: Porter Park


The Student Organization Homecoming tailgate was earlier than previous years. However, even with the short time to advertise we had 16 Organizations participate in our tailgate. We had 10 tents and 3 reserved spaces for organizations this year. This year we allowed organizations to reserve a space without a tent in order to increase participation. We had 3 organizations that were willing to risk the weather, and their risk paid off. 

We also had a photo booth and a DJ. The photo booth was fairly successful and took over 300 photos of participants enjoying the day. 

Improvements for next year possibly having a counter to see how many students participate in the event. 


Tailgate forms can be found below:
Rental Form
Registration Form

Greek Life Service Trips

Greek Life Service Trip

October 2013

The EMU Greek Community held a community wide service opportunity on October 11th, 2013.  There were 9 participants, representing five different chapters.  We went to the Leslie Science Center in Ann Arbor, MI  to help with a gardent that is tended by the non-profit organization Project Grow.  The facilitator of the experience, Joet Reoma, taught participants about the local history of the Center and about organic farming.  Everyone's favorite topic was the German method of mound farming, called hugelkultur, that seeks to replicate the same conditions a fallen log in the woods creates naturally.  Participants dug up and relocated local perennial plants and weeded invasive species and other weeds.

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November 2013

This month, The EMU Greek Community held a community-wide service opportunity on November 15th, 2013. There were 9 participants representing 6 chapters from the IFC and the CPC. This month, the community helped out to sort donated clothes at the Ann Arbor PTO Thrift Shop, an organization who's profits go to support Ann Arbor Public Schools. Though the shop is not short of donations, they do need help sorting through the mountain you can see in the video below. Participants opened bags of donations and sorted out what was fit to sell and what is to be donated to a local homeless shelter. We all had a blast helping out a great cause.

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March 2014

Greeks chipped in to help raise money for Ann Arbor Public Schools Educational Fund by volunteering to help run the annual Ann Arbor Marathon. Twenty-Two volunteers from 4 organizations showed up on a frigid Sunday morning in March to help with the food tents, water tables, and passing out of medals and water at the finish line. 

Day 6: Staying in Action

Learning Goal for the Day:
Identifying strategies for sustaining momentum.

The process of experience of LeaderShape began with a firm foundation in core values and passions. From this personal place in our hearts, we moved into envisioning the future and created Stretch Goals, Manageable Goals, and Action Steps to bring that future into reality. We did all of that while adopting the philosophy of "a healthy disregard for the impossible."

Before the participants depart from the camp, we create a "Staying in Action" guide to remind us not only of what we learned at LeaderShape, but how to intentionally apply it on campus and in our communities.

The Day concludes with a commencement ceremony to celebrate and acknowledge the participation of all of the students and faculty throughout The 2013 LeaderShape Institute. Participants are given glass pebbles which represent the ripple effect that each participant will make in the world as each "commences" his or her leadership journey. The stones should be kept and cherished as a remembrance of The LeaderShape Institute and as a remembrance of the tremendous difference each and ever participant will make in their communities and campuses as they continue in their leadership journey.