Retreat

Culture

Stress!!

Sucess

As everyone knows success differs by the individual, for some it means financial stability, and others it means a happy family where no one goes to bed hungry.  To a few, success is defined as wealth beyond the needs of any individual similar to that of Bill Gates or Warren Buffet. However, I must say that I define success as feeling accomplished. Not trying to generalize that concept of success but feeling accomplish is something we all strive to be. I view success as finding one passion in life and devoting one career to working towards an ultimate goal whatever it might be. Therefore, everyday an individual spent working towards their ultimate goal; they are eventually working toward their definition of success.  In order for me to be successful, there are a few things I must accomplish including getting both a bachelors and an MBA. After getting my bachelors in Economics/Political science I want to further my education and get my MBA in Business Economics and eventually in JD in business law. Of course I want the American Dream of a family and three beautiful kids, but in order for me to feel successful I must accomplish my academic dreams. 

My perception of leadership

Reaction to Goodwill Challenge

When I learned about the Goodwill challenge, I was excited!!  We finally get to utilize the skills and self-awareness that we learned since receiving our notification of acceptance into the program. Arriving at Goodwill facility I suspected that we might be working with individuals with disabilities. I was really excited by the thought of helping individuals but once I realized we had to collect donated vehicles, I became anxious. My anxiety was not because of nerves, but because I have prior experience in working and collecting used vehicles. My only concerns with the challenge were a few questions, which later were eventually answered. For example, I wondered about the deadline of collection for the vehicles and the total amount of vehicles that we were expected to collect. Fortunately, we were told that we had all semester to collect these vehicles and that the only limitations on how many vehicles we collect were self-imposed. Obviously, I became curious of who my teammates were and how we could collaborate using our strengths and weaknesses. I would like to not only to win the challenge, but to collect vehicles and ultimately raise money for such a great service organization. As an analytical person, I automatically started to formulate ideas and a strategy to collect the most vehicles.  However, with four or five different teams competing for the same program, it was more than likely that we may have similar ideas. Therefore, this is the part where innovation comes into play. How can my team utilize the same recruiting tools, and yet be more effective in our methods of collecting vehicles? Our plan was simple what we did was (insert evil laugh here).  I’m not going to tell our strategy here, but the other team might borrow it. Therefore, if you’re reading this,

 you’re just going to have to wait when the challenge is over and my team “team goodwheels” takes the trophy. 

The summer of 2012

This summer was filled ups and down and yet I must use the cliché of “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Well, maybe a generous increase in funds and then I would be completely satisfied.  Between my four online classes and crazy adventures with family, my time management skills were tested and as much as I threw punches, procrastination is a dangerous opponent. As soon as school year was over I drove to Baltimore Maryland for a leadership Academy hosted by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. at John Hopkins University. There I met 40 other fraternity brothers from all across the United States inculding California and Mississippi.

 The leadership academy was awesome! Meeting these brothers and attending the programs sparked innovative ideas that we could take back to our respective schools and continue the legacy of greatness. My favorite part about the program was visiting the MLK memorial because he was a brother of the fraternity and also made some notable influences around the world. Three days into the program I received news that the internship I had planned to start after the program was retracted because of funding and now I was faced with another adversity of being broke and having too much down time. So I decided to use the free time to visit friends and family back home in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Delaware.  The drive was expensive and long but my little car held on for dear life. I must add I witnessed an unusual amount of road rage including partaking in a few myself, especially when I saw a teenage boy texting and driving.  Meeting with family was fun and exciting except the feeling of not being PRODUCTIVE!!   

Trying to save my summer and make it worthwhile I contacted the Liberian Ambassador to the United States for assistance in my goal of interning with the Liberian Government next summer. (Hopefully President Ellen Johnson) As of now we’re still in talks but I’m going to need a lot of persuasion and determination to make it happen.  By this time I had caught up and was ahead in all my classes so I started looking for ways to increase my funds. I got a job working with individuals with disabilities but as much as I enjoyed working with them, I felt it to be a waste of time because it did nothing for my career but provided enough money to keep a struggling college student fed and cover the basics of life. Therefore I took another job offer and started working as a banker for U.S Bank. I was offered a teller position at a competitor’s bank but felt my skills exceeded that opportunity so I bargain for more, needless to say, I think I made the right decision in waiting for U.S Bank.  I’ve never been more excited to receive an offer letter. As the end of summer was rapidly approaching I topped of my journey with finishing my four classes and officially getting my Associates of Arts from Bucks County Community College. 

 To end my summer, I took my ASVAB and physical in attempts of enlisting with the Air National Guard primarily because I’ve always been interested in the military and when my physical results come back, I would be enlisting. Overall my summer was fun and now my last project is working with the Boys & Girls club for a mentoring program.