Sunday, April 29, 2012

Presidentially Proud


A little under a year ago I was elected president of the Journalism Student Advisory Council. I was nervous. I avoided clubs in high school and have never been a “club person.” Well that changed quickly, when I took over as president of JSAC.

When I took over we had $160 in our club account, I am pleased to say that we have raised over $1300 and donated some of it to charity.

We just had our last meeting and I couldn’t help but shed a tear when I got home.  Bittersweet indeed. I have learned so much during my year as president and will take with me these life lessons into my future endeavors.

These girls, yes my club happens to consist of awesome femme fatales, have warmed my heart and become my personal friends. They put up with my flightiness, extreme positivity, and sarcastic humor.

I learned so much being president of a club and these are just some of the major things I have learned as president:

1.     Take notes-In order to stay organized, it is crucial to keep an organized notebook of things you want to discuss in meetings, things previously discussed, and duties.
2.     Set a meeting agenda- It is so much easier to have an effective club meeting if you have a clear idea of what you want to discuss. That way the members know what is going on and you cover every topic you planned on covering.
3.     Delegate- People join a club so they can be of use and help out with things they enjoy doing. Get to know your members and delegate according to their passions. No one wants to do things they hate doing; they do enough of that in their classes. Give them duties they will enjoy doing.
4.     Feed yourself with food not power- No one likes a dictator. Instead of being Mussolini, ask the members for their input.  I tend to have a very chill attitude towards life; I set all of our club meetings at Starbucks and each meeting was filled with creativity, productivity, and most importantly-laughter.
5.     Follow through- these people depend on you to lead them and get things done. If you promise to do something or execute an event, in the words of Nike “JUST DO IT.”
6.     Enjoy it- I have enjoyed watching my members grow personally and academically. I am so proud of everything we have accomplished and treasure all the fun times we have had. From auctions to dean’s lunches to our annual dinner, it has been a pleasure.

Each one of these girls has taught me something. I could not have asked for more amazing members. Furthermore, I couldn’t think of better women to spend my time with.

I know the next president will continue to do amazing things with JSAC and will continue to make the Reynolds School of Journalism proud.

Next semester, I will be a mentor for freshman and I cannot wait to start that next chapter of my life and share my many life lessons, learned the hard way of course, with freshman.

Huge journalism hugs

No comments:

Post a Comment