Month: January 2021

Artifact 2

| horan.76

For my second artifact, I want to share about my experience as a Lead Builder in Mount Legacy Week. Mount Legacy Week is an event that gives all first-year members of the Mount Leadership Society Scholars Program the chance to carry out two impactful service projects with local agencies. Each member joins one of six teams that focus on different topics, and the group that I was most excited to join was Team Environment. Within each team, there are two Lead Builders that help lead the group throughout each phase of the project, and I was immediately drawn to this position. 

As a Lead Builder, I have been given the opportunity to help lead a team of nearly 20 people in creating two-environmentally focused service projects. Although there is still a month left until our actual service event, I have already recognized my growth as a leader from serving in this position. Over the last two months, I have helped host weekly Zoom meetings with my team, designated tasks to team members, contacted various service agencies, and navigated the challenges of planning a service event in the uncertainty of a pandemic. 

To succeed in each of these undertakings, I had to draw on what I’ve learned about effective leadership in my scholars class, and to channel this into my own style of leadership. Over the planning stages, my team and I quickly discovered that some tasks in a project are unappealing and unlikely to garner any volunteers. Rather than forcing someone to take the lead on one certain assignment, I volunteered to do so myself. As a leader, I believe it’s important to show your team members that you would never ask them to take on a role that you would not also be willing to take on yourself. I have found that leading by example helps develop a mutual respect among team members, as no one is left feeling as if they are being taken advantage of. 

Additionally, throughout the course of this project, I have learned more about why I enjoy being a leader; I’ve realized that I thrive when being entrusted with extra responsibility, that I deeply appreciate the connections I make with my fellow team members, and that I love being highly involved in projects for which I am passionate about. While I will still serve in this leadership role for another month, I am already extremely grateful for all the opportunities it’s granted me, and I look forward to all else it has to offer. 

 

Career

| horan.76

As a sophomore in college, I have a better idea of my professional goals compared to when I enrolled in college. When I first came to OSU, I started in the Fisher College of Business, but I was interested in doing engineering as well. With the guidance of my academic advisors, I switched into the College of Engineering as a Chemical Engineering major and picked up a business minor. However, after a semester in chemical engineering, I realized that I wasn’t exactly passionate about molecules and chemical reactions, so I switched into Industrial and Systems Engineering. 

As an Industrial and Systems Engineering major, I can easily see myself incorporating my interests in engineering and business into my career. My current professional goals involve using my degree to work in supply chain management and logistics, and eventually transitioning into a management position in my company. I also anticipate my career going in directions I can’t predict right now, which is why I’d like to spend my time in college studying a range of subjects that could be useful later in my career. 

Some classes I’ve taken so far that have helped me in my professional goals include an accounting class, my initial engineering classes where I was able to develop and market a product with a team of my classmates, and also a business operations and supply chain class which helped me discover my interest in supply chain management. 

Some future coursework I’m excited for include the classes I will take for the ISE major. This semester I’m taking my first official ISE class and I’ve already really enjoyed applying my knowledge in math, science, and engineering towards a topic I’m interested in. I’m also excited to take the rest of my business minor classes, like finance and marketing. I’m also considering adding a history minor. Although it may not seem to directly apply to my current professional goals, I believe it’s important to have a great understanding of our history, and I think these could be classes that help me later in life even if I’m not entirely sure how at the moment. 

I am also involved in extracurriculars that are supporting my professional goals. I am a member of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers which has enabled me to connect and network with ISE majors and alumni, get resume feedback, and gain more exposure to the variety of opportunities available to people with my major. I am also a Teaching Assistant for BUSMGT 3130, which has allowed me to develop greater mastery of business operations and supply chain management and has helped me network with professors and students in the Fisher College of Business. Additionally, as a Service Committee Chair in the Mount Leadership Society Scholars Program, I have gained more leadership and project management experience which can be useful in any career I pursue. 

I have been fortunate to have the mentorship of my academic advisors, alumni in Mount, upperclassmen in my major and clubs, and family friends who have helped me identify my professional goals and given me advice on how to best reach them.